The Heart's Choice
by Kicon
Summary: Middle school has finally arrived! Amu has to make a choice, Utau and Kukai are struggling, Yaya has to grow up or be left behind, and Nagi and Rima are fighting again! And something dark is rising... Takes place after Shugo Chara! Encore!
1. Middle School, Here we Come!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

A/N: This story takes place after the last chapter of Shugo Chara! Encore! The names are going to be said Japanese style (last name, then first name, i.e. Hinamori Amu, Souma Kukai, etc.). "Senpai" is used when regarding an upperclassman, "kohai" is used when regarding a lowerclassman, btw.

I made a crappy trailer years ago for this story that can be found here if you want to watch it: http(:)(/)(/)www(.)youtube(.)com/watch?v=AbUREj0qCr4 . Just remove the parentheses.

* * *

**Chapter One - Middle School, Here we Come!**

"Amu-chan! Amu-chan, wake up! _AAAAAAMMMMMMMUUUU-CHAAAAAAAN!_"

"Wahhh!" Amu shouted as she fell out of her bed. She glared up at Ran, who was sitting on top of her alarm clock. "What do you want, Ran?"

"The alarm clock has been ringing for the past thirty minutes!" Ran said.

"_WHAT?_" she screamed, jumping to her feet and running around the room crazily. "I can't be late for my first day of middle school! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

"We tried. You sleep like a rock," Miki pointed out.

Amu stuck her tongue out at her blue chara, then began running around again as Ran cheered her on. She pulled her hair into her signature hairstyle. Then she ran into her closet and pulled out her new middle school uniform. It consisted of a white button up shirt, a yellow plaid tie, a black jacket with white trim and gold buttons (Like Kukai's), a black ruffled skirt, white socks, and black shoes. Of course, she'd added her signature embellishments: a yellow armband attached with a safety pin and the yellow plaid leg warmers.

She was just about to leave when she remembered something. She ran back to her desk and grabbed her new shugo-egg box made of yellow plaid. The chain also had a new charm: a yellow diamond. She hadn't been using her previous shugo-egg box because of the dollhouse in the Royal Garden, but they didn't have that anymore since they'd graduated.

"I like the new color," Dia said. "Yellow suits you, Amu-chan."

Amu smiled. "Thanks!" Then she saw the clock and flipped out again. "I'M GONNA BE LATE!"

She ran downstairs and grabbed a piece of toast that was sitting on the counter.

"Amu-chan!" her mother called. "Let your father get a picture of you in your new uniform!"

"Mom, I don't have time!" Amu said, but posed anyway.

Her father squealed happily and then continued taking pictures of Ami. "Perfect, perfect, perfect! My precious Ami is going into the first grade!"

"Bye!" Amu called as she ran out the door.

She ran down the street until she had caught up to some other classmates. A lot had happened over the summer. Nikaidou-sensei and Sanjo-san got married and were now on their honeymoon. Nagihiko revealed to her that he was actually Nadeshiko. Kukai and Utau's relationship seemed to have strengthened suddenly. Hikaru's egg hatched into a shugo chara named Kou. Ikuto -

She stopped walking suddenly, feeling saddened. Ikuto had left immediately after the wedding to continue his search for his father. He hadn't even said goodbye, just waved and got in the car. She should've expected as much from him, but it still hurt.

_"Wherever I go, whatever the distance that separates us...I will come back to you. And when you grow up and become an adult, I promise I'll come back for you. Because I'll always keep liking you like this. If you don't believe me, I'll seal my promise with a kiss..."_

That was what he'd said before he'd stolen her first nose kiss.

Her hand involuntarily went to the tip of her nose and she sighed.

"Amu-chan?"

Her hand dropped back to her side and she straightened up, her cheeks turning red. She turned around to face the speaker.

"T-T-Tadase-kun!" she exclaimed.

He smiled. "You're as chipper as always. I like what you've done to your uniform."

She blushed again and smoothed out the black skirt. "R-Really? Well, I like yours! You look good in it!" Then she covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide.

He smiled. "Thank you!"

"Amu-chan! Tadase-kun!"

They turned around to see Nagihiko and Rima running toward them.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Rima asked.

"What?" Amu replied.

"Seeing us wearing school uniforms without Guardian capes," she replied, smiling.

They all laughed at that.

"What time does school start?" Miki asked out of the blue.

"Eight," Amu replied. "Why?"

"It's 7:55," the chara replied.

"What?" she exclaimed and took off running with her friends toward the school.

SCSCSC

They arrived at the entry ceremony just in time. They leaned against a wall, trying to catch their breath. Rima was especially struggling since she wasn't very athletic. Nagihiko patted her on the back.

"Welcome all of you to Seiyo Middle School!" a girl was saying. "I am Makoto Kiyomi, your student council president for this year! I hope we will all get along well together!"

"She's so pretty," Amu murmured. Kiyomi had pale green hair that flowed to her shoulders. Her eyes were a bright yellow. She had a happy smile on her face as she explained to them the plans for the year ahead.

"Not as pretty as me, Yamabuki Saaya!"

"_Shh!_" everybody hissed. Saaya looked angry and Amu edged away from her and more toward her friends.

After the entrance ceremony, they were all trying to see what classes they'd gotten into. When Amu walked forward, people moved out of her way, though, so they were able to make it to the front without much of a hassle.

"Rima-chan and I are in Moon Class," Nagihiko said.

"I'm in Sun Class," Tadase said.

"Me too!" Amu said excitedly.

"Excuse me."

Amu felt somebody tap her shoulder so she turned around and was face to face with Makoto Kiyomi. The girl smiled at her and Amu smiled back.

"I'm sorry, but you need to wear your uniform properly here," she said.

"What?" Amu said, frowning. "It wasn't a problem in the elementary school."

"Yes, well, this is the middle school and I'm your student council president. We're big girls here, so we wear our uniforms correctly, 'kay?" Kiyomi smiled again, but this time it seemed sour.

"O-Okay, Makoto-san - "

"Senpai," Kiyomi interrupted. Amu stared at her, surprised. "I am your upperclassman, so you shall address me as Makoto-senpai or President. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes, Makoto-senpai," Amu stuttered.

"Thank you, um..."

"Hinamori Amu."

"Yes. Thank you, Hinamori-kohai." Then the beautiful girl turned around and walked away.

"W-What just happened?" Amu asked her friends.

"You encountered the dictator that is Makoto Kiyomi."

They turned to see Kukai smiling at them.

"Dictator?" Tadase asked.

"She runs a tight shift. She even makes us use the senpai and kohai honorifics when we're around her. She was vice president last year and tried to make everybody listen to her, but people only listen to the president. Things were much more loose last year," he replied.

Amu noticed that his shirt was tucked in and his jacket was buttoned. "Yeah, I can tell."

"You'd better fix your uniform now. Makoto-senpai has teachers enforcing the dress code," he said.

Amu sighed and nodded. "I'll go to the bathroom and fix it in a little bit. Why is she so strict?"

Kukai shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe she likes the power."

"I don't like her," Ran declared.

"Let's not judge too quickly," Dia protested.

"Yes, she might have a very kind heart," Su said.

"Who is she to boss around the king?" Kiseki asked angrily.

"Kiseki, I'm not the king anymore," Tadase said.

"She seems very cold," Rima said.

They fell silent and sighed simultaneously. Amu felt squirmish inside and knew that this was not the best way to start her new life as a middle schooler. In fact, it was a terrible beginning.

* * *

Hey guys! So, new Shugo Chara fic! If you haven't read the end of Shugo Chara! Encore! you can read it on mangafox(.)com if you want to. I've drawn the girls' uniform and I'll try to upload it to the internet and post a link so you guys can look at it. I'll also try to draw the gang in the uniforms and I'll even try my hand at Kiyomi. But be warned, I'm not a very good artist.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or private message me. Til next time!

~Ki

**Next Episode: The New Joker Is...? !**


	2. The New Joker Is    ? !

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

A/N: I've decided to use some anime-only characters in this story: Lulu de Morcef Yamamoto and Hiiragi Rikka. Also, Lulu's name is going to be Western style since she's living in France and that's how they write names there.

Also! I have pictures of the girls' uniform, the boys' uniform, and Kou (Hikaru's shugo chara)! There are links at the top of my profile, so I'd like for you to take a look!

* * *

**Chapter Two - The New Joker Is...? !**

"Amu? Are you okay?" Rima asked as they walked out of the school.

Amu nodded but knew she wasn't okay. She had just had the worst day of school ever. Because she'd actually followed the dress code, all sorts of rumors started up again. Some people wondered if her 'cool and spicy' phase was ending. Others came up with terrible things that Kiyomi might've done to get her to follow the rules. Students became split in whether they looked up to Kiyomi for 'taking Amu down' or hated her for the same reason. Either way, she was sick of being gossiped about.

"How about we go to the elementary school to check on Yaya and the others?" Tadase suggested.

Amu smiled a bit. "That sounds nice."

"Yeah. Let's see how they're holding up without us," Nagihiko said.

"I would love to, but I kinda have...other plans," Kukai said, rubbing the back of his head and grinning.

The four looked at each other, wondering what his 'other plans' involved. Then they shrugged, not really wanting to pressure their friend into telling them anything.

"That's okay. You can come with us another time," Tadase said smoothly.

Amu looked at Tadase and smiled. He was such a natural leader, though he didn't realize it himself. He'd changed so much since they'd first met each other. He turned and met her gaze, smiling gently at her. She blushed and immediately looked away, her heart racing.

"Well, I'll see you later," Kukai said, then walked away.

They watched him go for a couple seconds before they went on their way, walking down the sidewalks until they came to Seiyo Elementary School.

Amu was filled with memories as they walked to the Royal Gardens. She smiled faintly when she remembered how she refused to join the Guardians at first. Then Nadeshiko - no, _Nagihiko_, she reminded herself - tried getting her to join by helping her to make a tart for Tadase.

"Amu-chiiiiiii!"

Suddenly, she was glomped by a small girl with red bows in her hair. She smiled and hugged her back.

"Yaya, how are you?" she asked.

Yaya pouted. "It's tough, being depended on by the other three Guardians. But I guess I have to do it."

"I wouldn't say they totally depend on you, Yaya-senpai," Kairi said, coming up behind her.

Yaya "hmph"-ed and began talking to Rima. Kairi chuckled and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"How are things going? Are you taking care of the Jack's chair?" Nagihiko asked.

He nodded and straightened up. "I am doing my very best."

"He's so boring," Yaya complained. They all laughed.

"Where are the other Guardians?" Rima asked.

"They're coming," Yaya said.

"Amu-senpai!" Rikka exclaimed, running forward and giving Amu a hug. Hotaru floated over to Pepe, Musashi, and the other charas.

Hikaru followed behind Rikka, looking extremely powerful for a six year old in his Guardian cape.

"How does being the youngest King's chair feel?" Tadase asked him.

Hikaru smiled. "It's tough, but I like the responsibility."

Kou, Hikaru's shugo chara, came into sight. He had fair skin, orange hair styled like Hikaru's but with an ahoge, and yellow eyes. He wore a white button up shirt, blue shorts and blue and yellow sneakers. On his left cheek was a yellow star tattoo.

"This is Kou," Hikaru introduced.

The other charas surrounded Kou, immediately making him feel like part of the group.

"So, Yaya's the - " Amu started, then was interrupted.

"Yuiki Yaya, Ace's chair," she said, winking.

"Sanjo Kairi, Jack's chair," Kairi said, sliding his glasses back up his nose.

"Hiiragi Rikka, Queen's chair!" Rikka said enthusiastically.

"Ichinomiya Hikaru, King's chair," Hikaru said.

"Four out of five," Tadase remarked.

"Who's the Joker? Or do you even have one?" Amu asked.

"We have one," Yaya mumbled, not looking happy. That alarmed Amu.

"There he is," Hikaru said, pointing.

Down the path walked a boy who seemed to be about ten years old. He wore the Guardian cape and he seemed to have a very calm, icy mood about him. His hair was a light green and he had yellow eyes. He looked exactly like -

"Makoto Kiyomi!" Amu exclaimed.

The boy blinked at her and she blushed immediately. "That is my older sister's name. I am Makoto Shoji, Joker's chair."

"He doesn't have three charas, but we figured the other students would find it weird that we didn't have a joker after you graduated," Kairi said.

She nodded. "That makes sense." Then she looked at Shoji and smiled warmly. "Hello, I'm Hinamori Amu, the first Joker's chair."

"I know," he replied. "You were born on September 24th. You are fourteen and seven months old. Your astrological sign is a Libra. Your blood type is O positive. You are 157cm tall and you weigh 41kg. Owner of the Humpty Lock and you have four Guardian Characters named Ran, Miki, Su, and Dia born from your desires to become more athletic and honest; more artistic and sharp; more caring and improving your domestic skills; and to shine and be noticed by others respectively."

Amu stared, not exactly sure what to say. "U-Um...yeah."

"How did he know that about Amu?" Nagihiko asked Kairi.

"He knows that about all of us," Kairi replied. "It's the first thing he said to any of us this morning when we met him."

Shoji faced Tadase. "Hotori Tadase, former King's chair. Born on March 29th. You turned fourteen seven days ago. Your astrological sign is Aries. Your blood type is B. You are 158cm tall and you weigh 44kg. You have one Guardian Character named Kiseki born from your desire of world domination and to become stronger."

Tadase smiled a bit. "Yep, that's correct."

Shoji turned toward Nagihiko and was about to speak when Nagi held his hands up.

"No, that's fine - "

"Fujisaki Nagihiko, raised as Fujisaki Nadeshiko. Former Jack's chair and Queen's chair previous to that. Born on - "

"Really, I get it. You know a lot of stuff about us," Nagi said.

Shoji stopped talking and looked at Rima, who glared fiercely at him and shook her head. He shrugged and an awkward silence ensued.

Then, a chara floated out from behind Shoji. He had spiky blue hair, purple eyes, and fair skin. He wore silver armor like a knight's and he carried a shiled and a sword.

"I'm Takeo, Shoji's shugo chara," he introduced.

"Ah, a knight! Finally somebody the king can trust!" Kiseki floated over to Takeo, who looked amused. "Bow to your king."

"You don't have to!" Ran said as she joined them. The others followed.

"He's more of a phoney king," Rhythm said.

"Nobody listens to him anyway," Pepe pointed out.

"Hey!" Kiseki exclaimed, then began yelling at the charas (Who weren't listening) while the humans began laughing really hard. All except Shoji, who just stared at them with a blank expression. Even Hikaru cracked a smile. But Shoji simply stared. This toned their laughter down to another awkward silence.

"Well, I'd better go home. I want to see if Ami had a good day at school," Amu said.

"You three go on ahead," Kairi said to Rikka, Hikaru, and Shoji. Rikka pouted, but left with them nonetheless.

Once they were gone, he spoke again. "Makoto Shoji is an interesting character. He knows everything there is to know about us and more. He even knew about our shugo chara."

"And he never stops asking questions!" Yaya said. "Why this, why that. It's annoying."

"What does he ask?" Tadase said.

"Questions about how the Guardians work, how long its been established, even questions about Easter. He even asked the point of dreams. If hardly any of them come true, why have them?"

"Anything else?" Rima asked.

"Yeah," Yaya said. "He's questioning our positions. Kairi and I are older, so we should be King and Queen, he says."

"It does make sense," Amu said.

"Yes, but since Hikaru was running Easter by himself I believe he can be King's chair. And Rikka is a fine Queen's chair. She may be very distracted, but she toughens up when the time comes," he said. "Plus - "

"Yaya doesn't want to be Queen. Yaya is the Guardians' Ace," Yaya said.

They all smiled and laughed. Once the laughter died down, Rima spoke up.

"It's odd, isn't it?" she said.

"What's odd, Rima-chan?" Nagi asked.

She paused, looking awfully somber and serious. "Not knowing anything about someone who knows everything about you."

They were silent, thinking about this scary fact. Amu shivered, goosebumps rising on her skin, as an eerie feeling crept over her entire body.

* * *

And there's chapter two! I hope you like it! Remember to check out the picture, okay? The links are at the top of my profile page. Again, I apologize for the blurriness.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or private message me. Til next time!

~Ki

**Next Episode: Kukai's Secret Plans! And Utau's Secret? !**


	3. Kukai's Secret Plans! And Utau's Secret?

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Three - Kukai's Secret Plans! And Utau's Secret? !**

"Well, I'll see you later." Kukai smiled at his friends and then began walking away. He was glad they didn't press the issue. Tadase seemed to sense that, though the kid may not have realized it himself.

He didn't know exactly why he hadn't told them yet. Maybe it was because he wasn't exactly sure about it himself. Either way, he knew it wasn't the time to bring it up yet.

He looked up and smiled when he'd reached his destination: the ramen shop. He pushed the door open and walked in, then he saw her sitting at the counter. Her back was to him, and her charas were floating around her head. They all seemed to be looking at something. She was wearing street clothes instead of her school's uniform. She'd stopped attending Cross Academy since her fame had increased. Now she was being home schooled.

"Hey, Utau-chan," he said, sitting beside her.

Utau looked up at him and smiled, quickly snapping her cell phone shut and putting it in her bag. She seemed a bit nervous to him, but he shrugged it off. She probably hadn't known he'd come in and was just a bit startled.

"Hi Kukai," she said, smiling. "Ready for our challenge?"

"Definitely!" He grinned at her and she ordered their ramen.

Two minutes later...

"Haha! I win!" Kukai said, shoving his chopsticks into the air.

"Barely!" Utau said, pouting. "I can't believe I lost to such a kid..."

"Fair is fair," Daichi said.

Kukai grinned. "He has a point."

"Ah, shuddup," Eru grumbled.

She looked at him and she seemed confused. "What?"

"Fair is fair. This is that. The world is pretty simple," Kukai replied, shrugging.

"Is it that simple?" she wondered out loud. "Come on," Utau said suddenly, standing up and grabbing his hand. "Let's go."

He left money on the counter and was dragged out of the ramen shop. He was confused by her suddenly cold demeanor. She'd called him a kid again, which she promised not to do, but he figured it was becoming more of an affectionate term. Maybe she was upset that she'd lost. But she won last time, so...

"Utau, what's wrong?" he asked once they'd slowed down. He interlaced their fingers, but she wouldn't look at him. "Talk to me, please."

The last time she got this way, she was upset about missing Ikuto and the pressures of work. Maybe something had happened to Ikuto and she was worried. Or perhaps work was getting stressful again.

"Utau?" he said again.

"You don't understand," she said quietly.

"Well, yeah," he said. "I can't understand unless you tell me."

She whirled around to look at him. He took a step back and she let go of his hand. Her eyes were narrowed and she was definitely very angry.

"What do you know? You're just a kid!" she shouted.

"_What?_" Kukai asked, blown away by her anger. "You're only a year older!"

"You'll never understand, so don't pretend as if you will! It's not as simple as just telling you about it. That's such a kid's idea!" she shouted.

Despite how angry he was, he didn't want to get in a fight with her. So he stepped closer and took her hands in his.

"You said it three times. Time for your punishment," he murmured, looking into her deep, violet eyes.

Her eyes widened for a second, and before he could read the emotions there she looked at the ground. He leaned down slowly and then she pulled away from him, his hands falling back to his sides. He stared at her, shocked and surprised.

Her ponytails twisted in the wind as she said, "Not right now, okay?"

There was silence, as he wasn't exactly sure how to respond. Trying to calm Utau down when she was angry was like trying to stop a grenade without its pin from blowing up. But he didn't have long to think, because suddenly they were surrounded by paparazzi.

"Hoshina Utau! Hoshina Utau!" they were all shouting.

"Yes, you?" she replied, absolutely calm in the face of the pressure as she pointed to a middle aged woman with purple hair twisted into a bun.

"Do you come out here often? Is this a special place to you?" the woman asked

"Not often anymore. And it was. You?"

A man stepped forward. "Who is the boy?"

"A friend. You?"

"Are you two close?" a teenage girl, possibly an intern, asked.

"Not really."

"It looked like he was going to kiss you," the girl insisted.

"He wasn't. You?"

Kukai stared at her, absolutely amazed that she was able to throw away their relationship as soon as cameras were on her. She'd never cared about hiding herself. She was who she was and she never let herself be compromised by her fame. But why now?

A couple reporters had wandered over to him and were badgering him about his connection to Utau. Their questions went in one ear and out the other as he stared at Utau.

"Excuse me? Sir? Do you know her?"

He looked and saw the earnest intern girl, probably in high school. She waited expectantly for his answer. He looked at Utau, who seemed determined not to look in his direction, and said loudly,

"No. I have no connection to her at all."

He turned around and walked away, shoving his hands into his pockets. She didn't care about him at all. He was just somebody to eat ramen with.

_"There's only one person I like right now...and it's not Ikuto. Who do you think it could be then?"_

Everything she'd ever said to him meant nothing. Those words meant nothing.

She meant nothing.

SCSCSC

"No. I have no connection to her at all."

Utau flinched and closed her eyes, feeling the sting of tears. She felt absolutely terrible. He didn't deserve that, but he wouldn't understand. The world was so simple to him, and she wished she could see it through his eyes. But it was better this way.

She wasn't doing a very good job of convincing herself.

Just then, a black car pulled up. Utau flashed a smile at the reporters.

"Please excuse me," she said, pulling open the door and sliding into the car. She was thankful for the tinted windows.

They drove away as cameras flashed at them.

The car was silent for a while, then the driver spoke, "You know you have to make a choice."

"I know," she replied absentmindedly.

"The deadline is coming up soon."

"I know that."

They pulled up by the Tsukiyomi residence.

"I don't think Sanjo-san would be mad at you."

She reached for the door handle and tugged on it. "Maybe."

"I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Mother." Utau shut the door. She caught her mother's worried eyes and looked away immediately. The car drove away and she retreated into the house and upstairs to her room.

Iru and Eru were completely silent until she went into the bathroom. She lifted up the toilet lid and crouched over, then stuck her finger down her throat and hurled the ramen into the toilet bowl. When she was all done, she flushed and stood up and rinsed her mouth out to get rid of the nasty taste.

She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. She pinched her arms and wrinkled her nose at the flab that she somehow found there.

"Utau, you're not fat," Eru said.

"Be quiet," Utau whispered.

Iru then tried. "Please stop treating your body - "

"_Shut up!_" she shouted angrily, gripping the counter with all her might.

The charas looked at each other sadly and went to their eggs. Utau stood in the bathroom for a long while, trying to calm herself down. When she finally let go of the counter, she felt so light headed that she almost fell over. She left the bathroom and laid on her bed, staring at the papers strewn on the bed.

She pushed them off her bed, fed up with the entire issue. She had an offer to tour in America for an entire year. Except, she'd have to sign on with that company for that year. And American girls were so skinny...

Utau sighed and opened her phone, looking at the text message she'd received from Ikuto. It was the first time she'd heard from him in a little over a month, since Sanjo and Nikaidou's wedding.

_Back in Paris. Miss you. Say hi to Mom and Amu._

Amu.

Amu, Amu, Amu.

Why was it always her? Was she all he thought about? Every minute of every day? Sure, he was in love with her, but couldn't he spare a second for a thought about his little sister?

She sighed and stared at the bed. She'd confused her longing for attention from him - from _anybody_ - with love and had developed herself a brother complex. Who wouldn't? When your father had abandoned you, your mother was nowhere to be seen, and a company was using you, of course you'd be drawn to the only companionship offered to you. She had been alone in the world except for her brother.

She was over that now, but she still wanted to feel loved. Was that so wrong?

Then Kukai came along, brightening her world with a simple smile and his good luck charms. He had such innocent thoughts and feelings, and she admired that. She was a moth drawn to his flame, and she really liked him too. But she knew he would never understand about the America tour, or about Ikuto, or even about her new eating habits.

Nobody understood, she told herself. She was alone again.

* * *

Wow. So, yeah, I'm rolling in the drama. Obviously, this story is a lot darker than the normal Shugo Chara. They've grown up, so I think they'll be able to handle some stuff. Of course, there will be light hearted moments and happiness. But what's a romantic drama without tension and secrets?

Also! Yes, I know...Cross Academy. Not the Vampire Knight one, sorry. Because she and Ikuto wore those black clothes with the silver crosses on them and Ikuto said it was his uniform in one episode, I was very creative and came up with the name Cross Academy.

I hope you liked it! Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or private message me. Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Emergency at the Aquarium!**


	4. Emergency at the Aquarium!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Four - Emergency at the Aquarium!**

Rima was waiting outside the aquarium. They'd decided that they should all do something special together since they'd survived the first week of school.

"Rima-chan!"

Rima turned and saw Amu running over to her. She smiled and waved a little bit.

"Where are the others?" Rima asked.

"Ah, they should be coming. I'm sorry, were you waiting for long?" Amu asked.

She shook her head. "No, I just arrived a couple of minutes ago."

"That's good."

Then Rima began waving again and Amu turned to see Nagihiko and Tadase walking over to them.

"Hello, Amu-chan," Tadase said, smiling at her.

Amu blushed immediately and stuttered a hello back.

"Ooo, what a nice mood."

Amu was startled by the sudden presence of Yaya and noticed Kairi trailing behind.

"Don't scare me like - AAAHHH!" She screamed when Rima said, "Boo" in her ear.

They all began laughing and Amu felt the worries over her terrible first week of school melt away. She was here with her friends, and that was all that truly mattered.

"I think we can go in now that we're all here, since Kukai said he was going to be a little late," Tadase said.

Amu frowned slightly, wondering what was wrong with Kukai. Ever since he went off to go do his secret plans, he'd been moody and angry most all the time. He avoided any questions about his weird behavior with a shrug and a sudden round of Special Training.

The others agreed and they entered the aquarium together. They were all looking at the open water tank and staring at the sharks when Yaya exclaimed,

"Kukai!"

They turned around and saw Kukai, who grinned and winked at them. Yaya ran forward and latched herself onto his arm.

"You never visit Yaya anymore," she complained loudly.

"I've been busy," he said.

"Hmph!" Yaya turned away from him and stuck her nose in the air.

"I'm glad you were able to make it," Tadase said.

"Yeah, me too." Kukai smiled, but there was something odd and strained about it.

There was an awkward silence after that, so in order to break it Amu shouted, "Look!"

They all stared at her.

"Look at what?" Nagi asked.

Amu blushed and looked around the room. "Um...Look! It's a...statue of a dolphin!" she said lamely.

There was a beat of silence, and then hilarious laughter. To make her feel better, they all went over to the dolphin statue and took pictures next to it.

"So, what does everybody want to see?" Tadase asked.

"Penguins!"

"Clownfish!"

"Starfish!"

"Sea turtles!"

"Jellyfish!"

They looked at Kukai, who hadn't answered. He thought for a second. "Um...fish?"

They laughed at that.

"I'll go with you to see the clownfish, Rima-chan," Nagihiko said. She nodded and smiled, then they set off.

Kairi looked at Yaya and was about to open his mouth when she turned to Kukai and said, "Take me to see the penguins!"

"I want to see the penguins too," Amu said, noticing the look on Kairi's face.

"We can all go, and then meet up with Fujisaki and Mashiro-san at the clownfish," Tadase said.

Yaya looked a little disappointed, but agreed anyway.

SCSCSC

"Do you know why they're called clownfish?" Rima asked as they stared at the orange and white fish that were swimming around.

"They're not called clownfish because they're funny, but because of the way they bob and tilt when they swim," Nagihiko replied.

She looked at him, her head tilted to the side.

"What?" he asked warily.

"How do you know that?"

He smiled and shrugged. "I heard somebody say it once."

She looked at the clownfish and giggled a bit. "They're kind of cute."

"Yeah."

His voice had gone funny, so she turned and saw him looking at her. She blushed, noticing how intensely his ochre eyes were staring at her. He reached out and took her hand, smiling at her. She swallowed and blushed harder.

The moment was broken when Kusukusu suddenly let out a pained gasp. Temari and Rhythm did the same. They dropped their hands and looked worriedly at their guardian characters.

"What's wrong?" Nagi asked, catching his falling charas in his hands.

"I feel cold all over," Temari whimpered.

Rima cradled Kusukusu close to her, looking extremely worried and scared.

"Something's wrong," Rima said.

"We should go find Amu and the others," Nagi said. Rima nodded and they took off running toward the penguin exhibit.

When they rejoined the others, they couldn't believe their eyes. Floating in the air was a huge, black egg. It didn't have an X and it didn't have a ?. It was just a plain, black egg. But something was very wrong about it. Rima's heart literally hurt as she stared at it.

Then she looked at a girl about their age slumped against the penguin exhibit. She had turned entirely gray. Her skin, her hair, even her clothes. She looked lifeless.

"What's going on?" Tadase said.

"Yaya's scared," the Ace said. Kairi put a hand on her shoulder.

"Ran!" Amu said. The chara nodded and the other guardians followed suit.

"My own heart," they said. "Unlock!"

"Amulet Heart!"

"Platinum Royal!"

"Beat Jumper!"

"Dear Baby!"

"Sky Jack!"

"Clown Drop!"

"Samurai Soul!"

Then they stared at the egg, having no idea what to do. It wasn't attacking. It was just floating in the air.

"Look!" Yaya said, pointing at the top of the egg. "A crack!"

"Is it hatching?" Amu asked.

"I don't think so," Tadase replied, looking confused.

"We have to try something!" Kairi said.

But nobody moved. They watched as the crack snaked down and around, until there was a circular crack in the egg's shell. Then, the shell lifted up and disappeared, just dissolving into the air.

"What's happening?" Rima whispered, shocked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Amu said, stepping forward. "Heart Rod! Spiral Heart Special!" she cried.

The pink light shot forward and hit the egg straight on. Nothing happened except that the cracks spread farther.

Kukai stepped forward. "Golden Victory Shot!" The golden soccer ball hit the egg and several pieces of the shall broke off and disappeared.

"Is this how we beat it?" he asked, looking at Amu.

She bit her lip. "I suppose. Miki! Switch out!"

"Yes! I get to Character Transform!" Miki said.

"Amulet Spade!"

Rima stared at the pieces of the egg that lifted and broke off, then she gasped, her eyes widening with shock. Her body went cold and she couldn't move. She remembered when she first became a Guardian and her method of "purifying" the X-Eggs was-

"Prism Mu - "

"_Stop!_" Rima screamed.

They all looked at her in confusion.

"It's breaking! Can't you see that?" she asked. "When you break somebody's egg, that means you break their heart. That's what you told me, Amu."

They looked at the egg and the cracks running down its shell. Their eyes widened when they realized what they were doing.

"Then...what do we do?" Yaya said quietly.

Nobody answered the question. They watched with anguish as pieces of the shell disappeared slowly.

"Amu-chan," Dia said. "Can I switch with Miki?"

"Is that okay?" Amu asked.

"Yeah, alright," Miki grumbled. "But only since Dia's Character Transformed less than me."

"Amulet Diamond!"

"What now?" Nagi asked.

"Um..." Amu replied.

"Shooting Star Shower!" Dia said.

Amu nodded and then they performed the attack. Bright yellow stars flooded the room with light. Everybody instantly felt happier and they watched in amazement as a diagonal crack went around the egg and it lifted open. A pair of blue eyes stared out at the stars.

Amu smiled and knew what to do from there. "Negative Heart: Lock On! Open Heart!"

The pieces of the shell returned and the egg closed. It shrank and lost its black color, returning to normal. Then it entered the girl again. The girl returned to her normal colors as well instead of being gray.

"It's over," Nagi said, sighing happily.

The guardians turned back to normal. Their charas were back to normal as well. And they all felt as if a strange weight had been lifted off their hearts.

"How did you know what to do?" Amu asked Dia.

"Well, attacks were only making the egg break faster. And I got the feeling that Open Heart wouldn't work since I felt that the girl's heart was closed to us. So I thought if we made the chara want to come out, then we could purify it," Dia explained.

"At least we know what to do now," Tadase said.

"I can't believe we almost broke it," Rima whispered.

"It's okay, you stopped us," Nagi said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You saved her dream."

She smiled at him, feeling less sad about the incident.

"So what are we calling that thing?" Kukai asked. "It's not an X-Egg, and it's not a ?-Egg."

"It's a Broken-Egg," Amu replied. "Somebody tried breaking that girl's dream."

There was a heavy silence.

"Yaya doesn't like it," Yaya declared.

"Nnn..."

They turned and looked at the girl, who was stirring awake. She sat up and looked around with surprise, then looked at the group.

"Um...did something happen?" she asked.

"You fell asleep," Tadase said. "We just wanted to make sure you were okay."

She blushed and smiled at him a little. "Thank you."

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

She put a hand to her heart and they instantly became worried. "Actually...yeah! Yeah, I feel great! I feel like I can do anything!"

"That's great," Amu said, smiling at the girl. The girl suddenly frowned, scratching her head. "Is something wrong?"

"Well...I just remember somebody whispering, 'Impossible,' before I passed out," she said, then laughed. "Weird, huh?"

Everybody exchanged a look, which only confused the girl more.

"What? What's going on?" she asked, standing up.

"What's your name?" Amu asked.

"Nakagawa Mizumi," she replied.

"And do you have a dream?"

Mizumi blushed a little bit. "I've always wanted to work in an aquarium as a whale or dolphin trainer."

"I'm sure your dream will come true," Amu said.

"Thank you."

"Well, I'm sure we'll see you again sometime," she said.

"Goodbye!" Mizumi said, waving to them and then running off.

"She was very nice," Rima said.

"And somebody wanted to break her dream," Nagi added.

They all nodded.

"So, should we keep looking at the aquarium?" Kukai asked.

"I honestly don't feel like it now," Amu said.

Everybody agreed that they were too weighed down with thoughts about the Broken-Egg to have fun at the aquarium. But they promised to do it another time.

Amu began to walk home when somebody grabbed her hand. She turned aroun and saw Tadase smiling at her.

"T-T-Tadase-kun!" she stuttered, blushing.

"You were really great, Amu-chan," he said.

"Th-Thank you," she said. "But I almost broke the girl's dream."

"You were trying to save her dream," he replied. "That's all that matters."

"I suppose."

He squeezed her hand and smiled again. "I'll see you later.

She nodded, her heart beating fast. She watched him walk away and then turned around and went home while floating on cloud nine.

SCSCSC

A figure stood in the shadows watching the guardians as they dealt with the Broken-Egg. When it was purified, the person frowned.

"Tch," the person scoffed, turning around and walking away.

* * *

Oooo, and the plot thickens! It took me a while to come up with what to call the Broken-Eggs and what their effects were. I just thought it would be interesting to see how they fought something that didn't fight back.

Let's review, shall we? Amu and the others are in middle school and Kaichou Makoto Kiyomi is a dictator. Makoto Shoji is the new Joker's chair and he knows everything about them. Kukai really likes Utau but she acted like he was nothing to her as soon as cameras appeared. Utau is hiding her affections for Kukai, is bulimic, feeling alone in the world, and has been offered to tour in America for a year. Kairi is trying to show Yaya that he likes her, but she likes Kukai, who doesn't like her. We had a nice Rimahiko connection moment and a Tadamu moment. And somebody is trying to break people's dreams! Oh no!

Yay, drama! LOL!

Anyway, please please please review and tell me what you think! Especially let me know if you think the characters are acting out of character, okay? I'm really trying to watch that.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or private message me. Til next time!

~K

**Next Episode: New and Old Rivalries!**


	5. New and Old Rivalries!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Five - New and Old Rivalries!**

The next day, Amu arrived at school weighed down by thoughts of the Broken-Egg.

"Hinamori-kohai, I would appreciate it if you didn't zone out while you walked."

She looked up, startled, into the fierce yellow eyes of Makoto Kiyomi. She stepped back and stared at the ground.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to - I'm not ususally - "

"Oh, stop stuttering," Kiyomi said in disgust. "It makes you seem even less intelligent." The student council president turned on her heel and walked promptly away.

Amu watched her leave and then became aware of the stares and whispers directed at her. Cheeks burning, she put her head down and charged forward to her classroom. Nothing was going right these days. Everybody stared at her and whispered about her. What happened to her "cool and spicy" attitude? Why did she listen to everything Kiyomi said? Is she feeling out of sorts because her French boyfriend broke up with her?

Amu was sick of it.

"Hello, Amu-chan," Tadase greeted when she entered the classroom.

"Hi, Tadase-kun," she replied tiredly. She sat down in her desk that was next to his and laid her head on her desk.

"Is something the matter?" he asked, looking concerned.

She sighed. "Just more rumors about why I listen to Makoto-senpai. Why can't I just listen to authority and have it not be a problem?"

"People will always talk about something. Don't take it too hard," he said gently.

"I'm just tired of everybody talking about me. There must be something _else_ to talk about!"

He smiled at her and she smiled weakly back. She thought about Tadase and how much she liked him. He was always there for her no matter what. When she needed advice or comforting, there he was.

"Did you hear?"

"I can't believe it!"

"This will be interesting."

Amu looked around the class and then at Tadase. "What are they talking about?"

"Not you, for once," he said, smiling. "Apparently we're getting a new homeroom teacher."

"New teacher? But who - " She was interrupted.

"Ah, hello Himamori-san!"

Amu straightened up and looked to the front of the room and saw Yuu Nikaidou standing at the front of the class and smiling at her. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She began stuttering and stumbling over what to say, then she remembered what Kiyomi had told her that morning and she stopped and calmly said,

"Hello, Nikaidou-sensei. How was your honeymoon?" she asked, then frowned. "And it's Hi_n_amori!"

He chuckled. "Very well, very well. Shall we let class begin, Himamori-san?"

Amu growled and the class laughed. She looked at Tadase and he smiled warmly at her. Her cheeks burned and she looked at her desk. She remembered the way he squeezed her hand after they'd encountered the Broken-Egg. The Broken-Egg...

She frowned again, thinking. Who would want to break children's dream? Who could be so terrible? Sure, Easter had extracted X-Eggs, but they let her purify them so they could lure out the Embryo. But that was all in vain, since the Embryo was everybody's Heart's Eggs. And Easter was no longer dealing with Heart's Eggs, so it couldn't be them.

The only people she'd ever seen break a Heart's Egg were Rima (who didn't understand what it meant) and Ikuto...

Ikuto. He was in Paris looking for his father, so he couldn't be in town and breaking people's eggs. Besides, he wouldn't do that. And she didn't know how he would be able to cause Broken-Eggs since his violin wasn't cursed anymore and he didn't have Yoru either.

She sighed. She missed having Ikuto around, strangely enough. Even though he was a pervert and messed with her all the time and never said anything serious. Always joking, always playing...it drove her crazy. Yet, she was fond of it somehow.

"Himamori-san, please don't space out!" Nikaidou called.

She sat up instantly. "I'm sorry!"

The class laughed and her cheeks burned, but she laughed along with them.

SCSCSC

After school was over, Amu waited until the classroom was empty except for Tadase and they approached Nikaidou.

"Um, Nikaidou-sensei - " Amu started.

"Yes, Himamori-san?" he said.

She pursed her lips but didn't comment on the mistake. "I need to talk to you about Heart's Eggs."

He looked up at them sharply, his eyes narrowing in confusion. "What about them?"

He listened patiently and silently as Amu told the story of the Broken-Egg they'd encountered at the aquarium. He made a small noise when she said the girl had remembered soembody saying, "Impossible."

"What do you think?" she asked.

"I don't think it's Easter," he said. "They don't have any motive for breaking eggs; they never did. But it does seem that somebody wants to break people's dreams...how strange."

He became quiet, wrapped in his thoughts, when suddenly he said, "Ah!"

"What?" Amu and Tadase asked.

He smiled. "Su, my dear, how are you?"

Amu and Tadase fell to the ground as the green chara floated over and hugged his cheek.

"I'm very well, thank you. How is Sanjo-san? Oh, I guess she's Nikaidou-san now," Su said, smiling.

He laughed. "Yukari is very well. We had a nice honeymoon. She's with Utau now. Oh, speaking of Utau, she's giving a concert this weekend. Here are backstage passes and VIP tickets for you all."

"Oh, thank you!" Amu said, taking the tickets and passes.

"Not a problem, not a problem. Now, if you would just pay attention in class..." He trailed off and they all laughed.

"Ex-_cuse_ me!"

They turned and saw Kiyomi standing in the doorway of the classroom, hands on her hips and looking extremely annoyed.

"Hello Makoto-san," Nikaidou greeted warmly.

"Good afternoon, Nikaidou-sensei," she replied politely, then turned to Amu and Tadase. "Hinamori-kohai, I require your assistance. Hotori-kohai can walk home by himself."

Amu looked at Tadase and he smiled encouragingly at her.

"It's okay. I'll take the passes and tickets and drop them off at your house tomorrow, okay?" he said.

She nodded and handed him the said items. Then he walked toward the door, bowed slightly to Kiyomi, and disappeared from sight. Amu sighed. She was really looking forward to talking with him about the Broken-Eggs on the way home.

They said goodbye to Nikaidou and Amu followed Kiyomi down the hall. She had an uneasy feeling in her stomach. What could Kiyomi want from her? It seemed that all she wanted was to make Amu feel miserable. Maybe that was her plan.

They entered an unused classroom that had three boxes in the middle of the floor.

"I need you to move these to the storage closet down the hall," Kiyomi instructed.

Amu nodded and walked over to the first box. She picked it up and staggered under its weight.

"They are the new shipment of textbooks and we're going to save them for next year," she said.

"Could you...help...me?" Amu said as she took a couple steps.

Kiyomi laughed harshly. "Of course not!"

Amu burned with fury as she slowly made her way down the hall to the storage room. She could feel Kiyomi's hawklike gaze staring holes in her back as she walked. She set the box down and then straightened up, gasping with pain at the crick in her back. Hunchbacked, she made her way back to the classroom.

She decided to push the boxes, but as soon as she pushed the second one, Kiyomi stopped her.

"Pick them up," she said sternly.

Amu picked up the box and winced at the pain in her back. This time, Kiyomi followed her down the hall.

"You know, Hinamori-kohai, I believe that you have a great capacity to learn. If only you applied yourself to something other than daydreaming and dressing rebelliously."

Amu gritted her teeth. So she meant to insult her in every possible way while making her do - literally - backbreaking work.

"You had your fun in the Guardians at the elementary, but it's time to grow up and focus."

She set the box down and made her way back to the classroom where she began carrying the third and final box down the hall.

"You are already making great improvements as we speak by listening to authority and learning discipline by performing menial tasks. Being 'cool and spicy' won't get you anywhere these days. The best thing to do is to remain quiet and listen to orders."

Amu dropped the box in the closet and whirled around to face Kiyomi. They stared at each other with fierce intensity in each other eyes, neither backing down. Amu was burning with anger and Kiyomi radiated cool control.

Kiyomi smiled wickedly. "Good girl. Here's a treat." She held out a candy.

A dog! She was treating her like a dog! Amu ripped the candy from her hand and strode down the hall. At a corner she stopped, made eye contact with Kiyomi, and then threw the candy into the trash can and walked away.

Amu heard Kiyomi laugh and then she ran out of the school, tears of humiliation burning in her eyes.

SCSCSC

Rima sat outside below a tree in the middle of the rain. The branches protected her from getting wet, but they didn't prevent the tears falling from her eyes. Her parents had been fighting again, and for the first time her father threatened to move out. She had to get out of the house, and thankfully they were too angry with each other to notice she'd disappeared.

All of this was entirely her fault. If she hadn't been so defenseless or petite or _cute_ then she wouldn't have been kidnapped and her parents wouldn't have to pick her up even though they had to work. Then they wouldn't be fighting.

She put her head on her knees and sobbed. Kusukusu sat on her shoulder and patted her neck reassuringly, but it only made her cry more.

"Rima-chan?"

She looked up and saw Nagi standing in front of her. She wiped her eyes and forced the sobs down and tried to appear calm and collected.

"Are you okay? What happened?" he asked, walking forward and sitting next to her.

"Nothing," she replied. "I'm just watching the rain."

"You shouldn't be out here alone. You'll get a cold in the rain," he said. "What if somebody tries to kidnap you again?"

She pursed her lips and felt the urge to cry rise up in her. The kidnapping. The stupid attempted kidnapping. That was what it all boiled down to.

He put a hand on her shoulder and she stiffened.

"Rima-chan? Talk to me," he said, his eyes pleading with her.

She shook his hand off her shoulder. "Nothing's wrong."

"Don't lie to me, Rima-chan," he insisted.

Rima whirled around to face him and screamed, "Leave me alone!"

He stared at her, obviously confused and hurt. She turned around and didn't look at him. She didn't want to acknowledge that she'd caused his pain. If she didn't look, it didn't exist. Everything was better when you closed your eyes.

"I'm only trying to - "

He was cut off when the charas let out gasps of pain and an icy cold feeling crept over his heart. He looked at Rima, who'd stood up.

"Broken-Egg," she said, looking forward. "Kusukusu!"

"Right!"

"My own heart...unlock! Character Transformation: Clown Drop!"

Rima took off running toward where she felt the Broken-Egg was, Nagi calling after her. She ignored him. He would catch up soon enough. But if they left the Broken-Egg alone for too long, then it would break and be irreparable. The only saving grace was that it'd stopped raining.

Then she found it. Except this egg wasn't sitting in the sky and patiently breaking. It was racing around and slamming into everything from the ground to trees to bushes and huge chunks of the shell were breaking off.

"No! Stop!" Rima called. The egg paused, then slammed into the ground.

"Juggling Party!" She sent the juggling pins into the air where they spun and twirled. The egg paused but the chara still didn't peek out.

"Tightrope Dancer!" The brown ropes shot out and encircled the egg. That didn't work either.

"You're scaring it!" Kusukusu said.

"I don't know what else to do!" Rima replied.

"Dance of the Cherry Blossoms!"

Rima turned and saw Nagi - no, Nadeshiko as Yamato Maihime. Cherry blossom petals filled the air, falling peacefully to the ground. She watched the Broken-Egg and saw a pair of yellow eyes staring out.

"Shall we?" Nadeshiko asked.

Rima nodded and took Nadeshiko's hands.

"Queen's Waltz!" they cried.

A golden column of light appeared around them and the broken pieces of the Broken-Egg began reappearing, and then it turned white. The egg looked at them and then zoomed off through the air back to its owner.

Rima and Nadeshiko returned back to normal. Rima looked at her and then she took her hair out of the ponytail, becoming Nagihiko once again.

"Are you okay, Rima-chan?" he asked.

She turned her back on him. "I'm fine."

A pair of hands rested on her shoulders. "Why won't you talk to me?"

She felt the comforting in his hands and in his presence behind her. If she let herself, she could wrap herself in that comfort and tell him everything, every word and every tear. If she let herself, which she wasn't about to do.

"Because there's nothing to talk about." She walked away then, and she felt his hands slip from her shoulders. It might've been just paranoia, but she was instantly cold where his hands had just been.

She pushed down the urge to cry again and continued walking home. A rain drop landed on her head and she looked up. The sky was beginning to cry for her.

* * *

Another chapter! So Nikaidou is back, Kiyomi and Amu are battling, and Rima and Nagi are fighting again! Well...mostly Rima's fighting Nagi.

Now, I have drawn **pictures**! YAY! I drew a picture for when the **Broken-Egg **first appears (including Mizumi) and I also drew **Kiyomi**! The links are at the top of my profile and I'd really like it if you took a look at them. The quality of the pictures is way better cuz I used my digital camera that I found yesterday. -.-' Please tell me what you think!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or private message me. Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Make Room for Lulu!**


	6. Make Room for Lulu!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Six - Make Room For Lulu!**

**A/N:** Hey guys, so something happened and this chapter was lost. I might rewrite it someday if I have the motivation, but as of now I do not, and it wasn't really that important of a chapter anyway

Basically, Lulu visits Amu and they have a sleepover and she teases her about Ikuto and Tadase and says that someday she'll have to choose between them

Again, I'm really sorry

~Ki


	7. A Shocking Concert!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

A/N: Sanjo-san will be referred to as Yukari from now on.

* * *

**Chapter Seven - A Shocking Concert!**

There was a loud roar of chatter and excited screams as the Guardians (minus Rikka, Hikaru, and Shoji) made their way to their front row seats. Amu looked around, smiling at the huge following Utau had developed. Utau's music had really developed since she'd gone independent with Yukari's company.

"I'm so excited!" Yaya exclaimed.

Amu nodded. "Me too!"

"How about you Kukai?" Yaya asked, latching on to his arm.

His eyes seemed to darken and he shrugged half-heartedly. Amu frowned slightly, wondering what had happened between the two of them to make him look so sullen.

"What time does the concert start?" Rima asked.

Tadase answered, "I think it should be - "

He was cut off by the ecstatic screams that sounded all around him as the lights went down. The sounds of a violin floated through the air and Amu wondered if it was Ikuto for a second, then shook the thoughts away. He was in France. It was somebody else playing the violin.

Lights came up on the stage and everybody started screaming again. Utau stood on the stage wearing a bright purple and white striped dress. Her hair was streaked with purple. She opened her mouth and began to sing Black Diamond.

"_Tell me the object of your greatest desire  
The thing you want most  
Let's try and shout its name  
With a voice so loud it'll break maximum volume_"

Kairi winced when he heard the song and Amu smiled gently at him.

"This concert will create good memories with this song," she told him.

He nodded and smiled back. "Thank you, Hinamori-san."

"_No matter how much you are hurt or lied to  
Don't you ever give in  
Only the original shall eventually come to shine  
Repelling the unseen energy_"

Amu began singing softly along. The charas were all listening attentively, their eyes fixed on the stage. They could see Iru and Eru floating closeby to Utau, but they had worried expressions on their faces. Amu noticed that Utau's singing lacked the usual passion. She wondered what was wrong, and maybe it had something to do with Kukai?

"_Oh black diamond, black diamond!_"

The song ended and they all cheered. Tadase turned to her.

"Does Utau's singing sound a bit off to you?" he asked.

"I was just thinking the same thing," she replied. Now she was beginning to get worried.

Utau sang Heartful Song and Blue Moon, but she steadily became less energetic. Amu could feel the crowd becoming confused and anxious. What was happening to Utau?

Amu's attention was turned back to the stage when Utau began singing Meikyuu Butterfly.

"_Open your shiny eyes in the silent night  
A strange night has befallen you  
With footsteps crawling behind you  
And the sluggish pose of a black cat_"

Now Amu definitely knew something was wrong. Utau's eyes were closed and she started swaying back and forth in a dizzy manner. She looked at her friends and noticed that they were all worried as well. Kukai's hands were clenching the armrests.

"_Don't stare at it, don't...grab it  
It's just a...drifting...butterfly_-"

Suddenly Utau fell forward off the stage. Kukai leapt forward and managed to catch her. The entire concert hall erupted with terrified screams and shouts of concern. The band members rushed forward and jumped off the stage to where Kukai was clutching Utau. Yukari and security pushed their way through the crowd and took Utau from Kukai despite his protests. Then they began running off, the Guardians following close behind.

When they reached the door to backstage they wouldn't let them in.

"Please, sir, we have passes!" Amu said.

"You _have_ to let us through!" Kukai yelled angrily.

"Sir, she's our friend," Tadase said in a calm voice.

The guard looked unsure when Sanjo-san called, "Let them through!"

The man didn't have time to respond when all the Guardians were suddenly pushing right past him. Backstage was a loud hustle and bustle of frantic scurrying about trying to figure out something to do. They ran over to where Utau and Yukari were. Utau had woken up and was leaning heavily against Yukari.

"Utau!" Amu exclaimed. "What happened? !"

"Nothing," she replied quietly. "Just a little dizzy spell."

"You must've been dehydrated," Yukari added.

"Utau - "

"I'm _fine_ Kukai!" she snapped, her hands gripping Yukari's arms tightly in her anger.

Kukai fell silent and stared at the floor, his eyes smoldering with fury. The air was heavy with the awkward silence.

"Are you sure you're okay, Utau?" Tadase asked kindly after a moment.

She met his eyes for a split second before she looked away, nodding slightly. "Yes, I'm - "

Utau stopped talking and put a hand to her heart. They all felt the same feeling as their charas cried out in pain. A Broken-Egg had appeared.

Without a word the Guardians began running toward the despairing presence. As they got closer they could hear a terrible screeching noise. Once they reached the Egg, they discovered that it was the source of the noise.

"What's it doing?" Kairi asked.

"I don't know!" Nagi replied.

"We have to hurry," Tadase said. "It seems that it's breaking much faster than the others."

"Yaya's own heart, unlock! Character Transformation: Dear Baby!"

They turned in surprise to see Yaya as the first to transform. Yaya pursed her lips in determination.

"Go! Go! Little Duckies!" she called, summoning the army of bathing duckies. The duckies floated toward the Egg but dissolved instantly when they came close to it.

"Whah!" Yaya yelled, stamping her foot on the ground and folding her arms with a huff of indignation.

"My own heart, unlock! Amulet Clover! Honey Bubbles!"

From her bubble wand, Amu sent out the golden bubbles, but, just like Yaya's ducks, they dissolved when they came near.

"It's halfway broken!" Tadase called out. "My own heart, unlock! Platinum Royale! White Decoration!"

From his sword a myriad of colorful light shot out to no avail, for it just disappeared.

"We can't get close to it," Amu said in despair. The Egg began to wail even more loudly and they all fell to their knees in pain, hands clutching their ears.

"Angel Cradle!"

A beautiful and calming melody filled backstage, drowning out the sound of the shrieking. A chara with white hair in pigtails and mismatched yellow and green eyes stuck her head out of the remaining bottom portion of the egg. As Utau continued to sing, the chara closed her eyes and then was surrounding in a white light. When the light disappeared, a regular Heart's Egg was floating in front of them before it zoomed off to its owner.

Amu, Tadase, and Yaya returned to their normal forms and turned to Utau in her Seraphic Charm form. She smiled weakly at them before she collapsed on the ground, changing back to normal once she'd hit the ground.

"Utau!" Yukari exclaimed, rushing out toward them. She crouched down next to Utau's fallen form. "I told you not to..." she muttered quietly.

"Will she be okay?" Kukai asked.

"She should be. She's only fainted and I called a doctor," she replied.

"How did she get away from you?" Nagi asked.

"We were walking toward the dressing room and she kept talking about how it wanted to sing. Then, once we reached the dressing room, she locked me in, jammed the door, and ran off. It took a while to get the door open," she explained.

"Do you want any help?" Tadase asked.

"No, that's okay."

Kukai was about to protest but she cut him off. "It's really best that you leave."

Tadase nodded and gesutred for the group to leave. Kukai sighed and went off ahead of the group. Tadase walked next to Amu and they talked.

"I really hope that Utau is okay," Amu said.

Tadase nodded. "I think she will be. Utau is tough. She'll make it through."

Amu made a non-commital noise but couldn't shake the bad feeling in her gut.

SCSCSC

"Just a little dehydrated," the doctor said, rising from his chair. "If she drink lots of extra water and has a couple days off she should be back to normal soon."

"Thank you, doctor," Yukari replied.

Utau heard the voices but didn't want to open her eyes. She'd been floating so peacefully in the darkness of her mind and she didn't want to return to the real world. She wanted to continue swimming in her fantasies. Kukai had been with her in her dreams and everything was all right. But with a sinking heart she knew that she'd have to return to reality some time.

The door to her dressing room closed and everything was quiet. She knew Iru and Eru were there beside her, but her charas knew better than to say anything at that moment. After a couple beats she dared to open her eyes. The world spun for a few seconds and then everything was right side up again. Nausea floated up inside her for a bit, but died down quickly.

She mentally prepped herself for a minute and then slowly sat up. The room began spinning again so she closed her eyes. Then she slowly turned so her legs hung off the couch. She leaned up against the wall and sighed heavily. She needed to eat something, but she couldn't. Yet, she had to. She felt the urge to eat an entire pizza at once. Maybe two. And a bowl of ramen.

Utau opened her eyes and stood up very carefully. She balanced for a minute and then decided to take a step.

Her legs fell out from under her and she landed heavily on the floor. She pressed the side of her face on the cool tiles and pursed her lips.

_The larger they are, the harder they fall_.

Suddenly she didn't feel so ravenous, and felt the familiar desire of wanting to purge.

She heard footsteps in the hall and braced herself for Yukari to enter. Her mind reeled as she thought of an excuse for her position on the floor. Perhaps she had rolled over in her sleep and accidentally fell over? Yes...that would work.

The door opened and she closed her eyes. Iru and Eru gasped and Utau frowned slightly, wondering who had entered the room.

"Utau."

Her eyes snapped open and her heart stopped beating for a second. Then a slow warmth began to fill her body. Head spinning as she lifted it, she met the gaze of the person.

"Ikuto," she whispered before her world went black.

* * *

MWAHAHA! That's all I will say. So! Did ya like it! I found it really intense and was just what I needed after my writers block with Lulu (Gomen, Lulu). I love writing Utau, especially when she's all messed up like she is now. Yeah, yeah, that's probably messed up too, but there's just so much more depth to writing dark stories than happy stories. You know what I mean?

Anyway, I'll try to get some more pictures up but I don't really feel like it if nobody is going to look at them. I'll draw them for my sake maybe but probably won't post them.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~K

**Next Episode: Extra: The Chara Patrol!**


	8. Extra: The Chara Patrol!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Eight - Extra: The Chara Patrol!**

"So does everybody know the plan?" Kiseki asked, folding his arms.

Ran snapped out of her day dreaming. "What?"

He sighed in frustration and began to explain it again when Takeo covered his mouth with his hand.

"That's okay, I think we get it," he said. The other charas nodded intently.

"Alright! Dismissed! Do your duty!" Kiseki commanded.

The charas flew out of the Royal Garden and each went to their own section of town to patrol. They were supposed to be looking for Broken-Eggs, but it felt like a slow day. And it was extremely hot.

"This is boring!" Ran declared.

"We have to be diligent," Dia replied.

Ran huffed and folded her arms, scanning the horizon. She turned to ask her sister something but when she looked, Dia was gone! What had happened to her? Maybe she was kidnapped by the Broken-Egg master! Or -

She calmed down when she noticed Dia following a butterfly around.

"Dia!" she called. "What happened to being diligent?"

Dia looked at Ran and blushed, embarrassed. "Sorry! I got distracted!"

Ran put a hand to her forehead and sighed.

"_Help!_"

"Did you hear that?" Ran asked.

"What?" Dia said, following the butterfly again.

"_HELP!_"

"That! Come on!" Ran flew over to the yellow chara and dragged her to the sound of the yells.

"What's going on?" Kiseki asked everybody.

"Look!" Pepe declared, pointing at a sign in the window of a cooking facility.

"What about it?" Daichi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It says, 'How to Crack Eggs with One Hand'!" she read.

The charas gasped. They'd found the hiding place of the Broken-Egg master! And apparently the master had learned how to physically break the Heart's Egg!

"We need to be very careful about this," Kiseki said.

"We should get Amu and the others," Miki said.

"Aren't they in school?" Takeo asked.

"We shouldn't bother them since we don't know for sure," Musashi said.

"That's a good point," Kiseki mused. "We shall have to go inside and see. Yo - " He fell silent. He'd been about to ask Yoru for his advice on how to sneak inside until he'd remembered that Yoru had returned to the Egg's Cradle.

The charas except for Takeo all knew what Kiseki had been about to ask and felt a little sad.

"We shall see him again," Dia said, having switched from airhead to wise.

They nodded, knowing that all of them would eventually have to leave the physical world and go back to the Egg's Cradle.

"Now, open that door!" Kiseki declared.

The charas flew to the door knob and tried turning it but their hands couldn't get a grip on the smooth surface.

"Dudes," Rhythm said, pulling away from the door knob. "The window's open."

The charas all sweat dropped and looked at Kiseki, who swallowed awkwardly.

"Go through the window!" he commanded. The charas sighed and did as they were told.

Once they were inside they noticed a row of tables with bowls and other boxes and items on them. An adult was standing in front of each bowl. At the front of the room stood another adult in front of a smaller table. He wore white clothes and a big white hat.

"The Broken-Egg master!" they whispered, watching with horror as the master picked up an egg from a bowl.

"The perfect disguise," Kiseki murmured. "The Heart's Eggs look exactly like regular eggs!"

Su looked around at her fellows, confused at what they were saying. "Um - "

"Shh!" they exclaimed.

She frowned, but stayed quiet.

They stared as the master hit the egg on the edge of the bowl and then cracked it with one hand, yellow and clear goo falling down into the bowl. The other adults in the room followed suit.

Temari whimpered and fainted. Rhythm caught her. Dia closed her eyes. The other charas looked away in disgust.

Su looked at her friends and sighed. "Excuse me - "

"Su!" Kiseki said.

"Yes-desu?" she said in a tired voice.

"Go get Amu and the others. Go quickly!"

"Alright-desu," she replied, flying through the window.

"I can't believe it," Kiseki said to the others. "He's teaching apprentices!"

"Those poor eggs!" Miki said.

"The poor kids," Ran added. Daichi put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I can't watch!" Dia exclaimed, flying out of the window. The other charas followed suit, not wanting to witness the murder of dreams while they waited for the Guardians.

When Su returned she only had Amu with her. Kiseki sighed, disappointed with the chara. He had said Amu _and the others_.

"Where is everybody else?" Kusukusu asked.

"Amu can't defeat him by herself! He has a whole army of Broken-Egg apprentices in there!" Kiseki yelled.

Amu and Su looked at each other and started laughing. The charas were amazed that they were taking this serious issue so lightly!

"What are you laughing at?" Musashi asked incredulously.

"That's not the Broken-Egg master," Amu told them.

"But he's breaking eggs!" Kiseki said.

"They're not Heart's Eggs, they're regular cooking eggs. In baking you have to use eggs to make things like cakes, and it's really hard to use only one hand so most people use two. This man is teaching people how to use one hand," she explained.

The charas were quiet as this explanation sunk in. Then they all blushed when they realized how wrong they were. Amu and Su began laughing again and the rest of them joined in.

"I'm sorry," Pepe said. "I guess I got a little confused."

"That's alright," Amu said. "It happens to all of us. But you handled the situation well."

The charas beamed.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I think I've been in the bathroom a little too long," Amu said, waving goodbye as she ran off.

"Alright charas, time to resume patrol!" Kiseki announced as the charas groaned.

* * *

So, a little break from the angst! Yay for the funny-ness of the charas! Well, that was really fun to write. I love the charas and their comedic relief. Like Hurley! Sorry, LOST moment. I hope you liked it! We'll get back to the story in the next chapter.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~K

**Next Episode: Confusion of the Heart!**


	9. Confusion of the Heart!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

A/N: Please **do NOT beg **for me to write something. I carefully consider suggestions about my writing style, but that's about it. This is my story and my plotline, so please do not beg. Thank you!

* * *

**Chapter Nine - Confusion of the Heart!**

Amu sternly told herself to calm down, but it wasn't working. After a whole week of Broken-Eggs, stress, and Kiyomi this should've been the least of her worries. But, alas, her heart was racing nonetheless.

"Amu-chan?"

She looked up into Tadase's red eyes and smiled nervously. He opened the door for her and they walked into the restaurant together. A waitress seated them and she stared awkwardly at the tabletop. It was awfully silent without the charas, who were patrolling.

"Do you know what you want to eat?" he asked her.

"U-Um," she stuttered, picking up the menu. "Ramen, I suppose..."

He set down his menu and looked at her with concern. "Are you alright?"

"O-Oh, I'm fine," she replied quickly.

"You're nervous," he said.

Amu blushed instantly as she tried to protest. He reached out and took one of her hands. Her face turned a deeper shade of scarlet.

"Amu-chan, you know I - "

"Excuse me!"

They looked up at the waitress, who was smiling.

"May I take your order?" she asked.

"We'll have two bowls of ramen," Tadase told her, handing her the menus.

"I'll have that right out for you," she said before she walked away.

"What were you going to say?" Amu asked.

Tadase shook his head. "Nothing. How are things going with Makoto-senpai?"

Amu took a breath and explained the whole thing. Tadase nodded and listened patiently, commenting at all the right places. While she was talking she also thought about how admirable he was. Tadase was such a kind soul, and a good leader too. He was a true friend and was always there for her when she needed him.

They fell silent as they began to eat and she relaxed, thinking about nothing as she stared out the window. Then, something caught her eye: a head of familiar blue hair -

She stood up abruptly from her chair, her mouth hanging open. Thankfully, she'd already swallowed.

"Amu-chan? What's wr - "

He stopped as everybody in the restaurant dropped what they were holding and gripped their hearts in pain. Then, they all passed out except for Amu and Tadase.

"We've got to hurry," Tadase said.

Their charas appeared in a moment. They character transformed quickly into Platinum Royale and Amulet Spade and found the Broken-Egg in the kitchen. They looked at the fainted kitchen staff and saw in horror as the ones closest to the Egg were turning gray. Stepping carefully around the broken plates, they moved forward with determination.

"Wh-What's happening to it?" she asked.

"It's...melting," he said, staring as the Egg began doing exactly what Tadase said, falling down in drops of black matter into a pool on the floor where it slowly disappeared.

"Prism Music!" Amu called, waving her baton in the air. The notes floated around in the air next to the Broken-Egg, but whenever they got closer the Egg started melting more quickly.

"Holy Crown!" Tadase said. A huge golden crown formed around the Egg, but it had the same result.

"Amu, may I try?" Su asked.

"Alright. Switch out! Amulet Clover!"

"Now what?" Tadase asked.

"Remake Honey!" Amu cried in response.

As the honey surrounded the egg, the remainder of the top half opened up and purple eyes gazed out. Amu and Tadase looked at each other, knowing what to do. He crossed his staff with her whisk and together they said,

"Platinum Clover!"

Gold and green light shot out and swirled around the kitchen. The Egg healed and turned back to white, zooming back to the collapsed lady who was their waitress. Slowly, she transitioned from gray back to her usual appearance. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around. She stopped and stared at a normal Tadase and Amu, who smiled nervously. Everyone else in the kitchen began arousing.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Everybody passed out all of a sudden," Tadase replied.

"There must be something in the air, we should get everybody out!" she said, standing up and going right to business.

"Um, do you feel alright?" Amu asked.

The waitress turned around and looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well...your dream. You have a dream, don't you?"

She smiled. "Oh, yes. I feel better than ever. I know I can accomplish it." She turned around and began ushering everybody out of the restaurant, including Tadase and Amu.

"I'm sorry our date didn't go as planned, Amu-chan," Tadase said.

She stared at the sidewalk. Her heart fluttered at the word 'date.' "Oh, it's alright. We can reschedule."

They arrived outside her house and stood on the door step. Their eyes met.

"Rain check?" he asked her.

She nodded and swallowed. "Definitely."

He reached out with his hand and she thought he was going to take hers, but instead he laid his hand on her cheek. Her face flamed and he was blushing too. Slowly, they leaned in -

"_Amu-chan!_" her father yelled, throwing the door open.

They sprang away from each other and quivered in the presence of Amu's father until her mother pushed him aside, smiling gently.

"Hello Amu-chan, Hotori-kun," she said gently. "Thank you for bringing her home."

Tadase nodded and smiled at her. He waved at Amu and then walked away.

Amu sighed as she watched him leave, her heart still racing. Her dad tried interrogating her as she walked to her room, but she couldn't talk. Automatically, she switched into her 'cool and spicy' mode, telling him outright that boys were lame. He happily accepted the answer.

When she entered her room, her charas were waiting for her.

"Aren't you supposed to be patro - "

"_We saw!_" they chorused.

"What?" Amu said, looking confused.

"The almost kiss with Tadase-kun!" Ran exclaimed.

"My heart was going to burst!" Dia said.

"How did you feel?" Miki asked, sighing dreamily.

"Are you a couple now?" Su asked.

"No!" she said, alarmed and embarrassed by all the questions. They kept bothering her until she yelled at them to go on patrol. With a deflated manner, they floated out the open door to her porch. She closed the door and then collapsed on her bed, then froze immediately.

Underneath her, there was a body. A skinny, bony body whose elbow was poking into her side at that moment. Her heart froze over and her words died in her mouth. Whatever she'd been about to say left her mind as the person in her bed sat up and she met a pair of deep blue eyes.

"Yo," Ikuto said.

A deep, angry passion rose up inside her and she jumped off the bed, storming over to the glass door, yanking it open. Ikuto looked confused until she walked over to him, grabbed him, and threw him out the door, closing it quickly.

"Amu, it's cold..." he complained.

"No! You can't just leave and show up whenever you want!" she yelled.

"I'm sorry."

"No you're not."

She sat down with her back against the glass, her entire body shaking with shock, anger, and happiness.

After a moment, she spoke, "Why are you back this time?"

"I'm worried about Utau," he replied.

"Did you find your father?"

"No."

"So you're going to leave again."

...

"Yes."

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Why are you looking for him?"

"He's my father."

"But why search for someone who's not searching for you?"

"He may think the same about me."

Amu was quiet as she thought about this.

"My father left because he knew he wasn't good for my mother. Nobody approved of their marriage and only bad was coming out of it. He even had to stop pursuing music. He knew that by staying he couldn't become better, so he left to make a name for himself. That way, he could have money and a good reputation and could provide for us."

"Why hasn't he come back?"

"He's scared that we'll reject him for leaving us."

"How do you know all of this?"

For a long time Ikuto was silent, and for a second she thought he'd left. But, no, he was still there, thinking about this troubling question.

"Because I am exactly like my father, and it is what I'm - I would do," he said.

She noticed his slip up. Was he about to say it is what he's doing? Why would he be setting out to make a name for himself?

"May I come in now?" he asked.

Amu got up and opened the door. "I suppose."

"Thank you," he said, stepping through the door. He sat down on the chair next to her desk. She sat down on her bed.

Their eyes met and for a while they just stared at each other, as if trying to memorize each other before he left again.

Amu noticed his hair was longer and shaggier, probably because he hadn't bothered to get a haircut recently. His clothes were wrinkled and somewhat dirty. His eyes were the same shade of deep sapphire, but he looked tired and strained.

She was different, he'd noticed. She still dressed the same and reacted to her presence the same way (although angrier this time), but she looked older, somehow more mature. She acted more focused, more determined. There was also a wariness in her eyes that hadn't been there before, as if she were scared of something.

"How is middle school?" he asked.

"Not very good," she admitted, her eyes darkening slightly.

"Mind explaining?" he asked.

For the second time that day she explained about Kiyomi and her tyrannical ways. She also told him about the Broken-Eggs and he looked shocked and disgusted at the same time.

While explaining she noticed the way Ikuto listened as opposed to Tadase. Tadase kept his eyes on her, watching and listening intently to everything. Ikuto sat in the chair and stared at everything but her, but still listening hard.

"I wish I could help," he said.

"Do you miss Yoru?" she asked.

He nodded sadly. "I do, but he's always in my heart."

She smiled a little bit, then thought about how her charas disappeared for a little while. Then, she was able to bring them back by wishing for it, since nothing in your heart ever disappears and dreams can be reborn again and again.

"Do you have a place to stay?" she asked.

"I'm not staying in your room again," he replied, grinning slightly. "I'll be staying with my mother. Speaking of Mom, I should probably go now."

He rose from the chair and looked at her. Her heart rate increased slightly and she jumped off the bed, hurling herself at him and wrapping her arms around his torso. He looked down at her, surprised by the show of affection, but hugged her back. He laid his cheek on the top of her head and inhaled the sweet strawberry scent of her hair.

They stood that way for a while, then she released him. Ikuto walked over to the glass door and looked over his shoulder at her.

"If you don't want people in your room, you should probably lock the door," he said. Then, he was gone.

She stared outside, flabbergasted by his sudden appearance and disappearance. Slowly, she sank down to her knees, feeling weak and more confused than ever.

* * *

Woot, Ikuto is back! And yay for spellcheck which caught five errors that you don't have to deal with! ^^ Well, I really like this chapter. So full of emotional...emotion-ness. LOL!

So, just a reminder, please **do not beg** for certain events to happen in the story.

Questions? Comments? Casual, non-begging comments? Then please review of PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Hurry! Don't be Left Behind!**


	10. Hurry!  Don't be Left Behind!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Ten - Hurry! Don't be Left Behind!**

"So Broken-Eggs also have an effect on the people around them," Kairi mused. "This is troubling."

"The only thing we can do is keep up with the patrols," Tadase replied.

"If that's all, I have to go," Kukai said, glancing down at his watch.

"Alright," Hikaru said. "Dismissed."

The garden was silent as everybody grabbed their things and got ready to leave. Nobody said anything. Yaya pursed her lips, not liking the cold atmosphere that was surrounding them.

"Wait!" she exclaimed.

They turned and stared at her.

"We should do something fun. Let's go to the new amusement park!" she suggested enthusiastically.

Everybody looked at her with extremely less enthusiasm.

"I don't know."

"I think I'm busy."

"Um..."

"We never do anything fun!" she complained. "It's all so serious and sad all the time!"

"Yuiki-san - " Tadase started.

"Tadase-_kun!_" she whined, stamping her foot on the ground.

"I'll try, Yaya," Amu said. "I think some fun would do us some good."

They all exchanged some looks and then murmured some form of agreement. Yaya beamed and skipped around in a circle.

"Okay, we'll meet there at noon!" she said happily.

SCSCSC

At one o'clock, Yaya was still alone. At first she'd been patiently waiting outside the amusement park, wondering where everybody was. Perhaps they were just late, or maybe they'd forgotten what time it was. Then she'd been getting their calls and texts.

"Sorry, Yaya, I have to babysit Ik - Ami. Maybe another time?" was what Amu had said. Her friend's stutter had confused her, though.

Tadase called saying that they were going out of town.

Rima texted her saying that her parents wouldn't let her.

Nagi called and said that his parents wouldn't let him, either.

Kukai texted her saying simply, "Can't."

Shoji hadn't contacted her at all, but she'd expected that.

Hikaru was busy with his side schooling from his grandfather.

Rikka said she was spending the day with her parents.

The only one she hadn't heard from was Kairi, and by that time she'd just given up hope.

"Nobody cares about Yaya anymore," she muttered to herself, feeling tears come into her eyes. "Yaya's just a baby. Yaya can't do anything right. She can't even get her friends to have a little fun."

She pulled out her cell phone and was about to ask her parents to pick her up when she notied Kairi walking towards her. She stood up and brushed off her pants, then ran towards him.

His eyebrows pushed together in confusion when he saw her running towards him. "Ace - " He was cut off when she hugged him. Awkwardly, he patted her back, not knowing exactly what to do.

"I'm sorry for being late. My sister got lost and we couldn't find the way here. And I lost my cell phone," he said.

She released him and he looked around.

"Where is everybody else?" he asked.

"Not coming," she grumbled, folding her arms and huffing.

His eyebrows raised. "You've been waiting by yourself?"

Her bottom lip quivered for a split second as she nodded.

"I'm sorry, Ace," he said.

She shrugged half-heartedly. He swallowed in the silence that followed. She was obviously down about being alone for an entire hour.

Musashi nudged him and he nodded.

"Ace, would you take me around the amusement park?" he asked.

She looked at him, paused, then took his arm and sprinted to the amusement park.

For the entire day they rode every ride, played every game, and bought almost every single food and drink item there was to buy. They'd forgotten about their Broken-Egg worries, their school stresses, and everything else except being in the moment. It was one of the most fun day Kairi had ever had in his life.

His thoughts began to wander to Yaya and Amu. Amu sparkled with confidence and leadership. She knew how to have fun and how to be serious. Whenever she broke down she recovered soon after with more spunk than before.

Then there was the Ace, who ceased to amaze him. She looked life in the eye with a smile and a wink, refusing to be sad for long. Everything seemed to be so simple: do you want to or not? If you do, then do. If you don't, then don't. That's the way to stay happy.

The sun was setting and they decided to ride the Ferris wheel one more time. It was quiet for a while as they stared at the sunset. Then he voiced his concerns.

"Are you okay?" he asked, noticing yet again the sadness that crept into her eyes every now and then, as if thinking about something far away.

She nodded, but he wasn't convinced.

"Are you sure?" he persisted.

"No," she replied. "Yaya wanted this to be a fun day for the Guardians. There's too much sadness and uncertainty for Yaya. If we had a fun day today, then we would have fun memories. Yaya's had fun making memories with Kairi-kun, but..."

"I understand," he said.

Yaya looked up at him and their eyes met. They smiled gently at each other. In that moment, she realized how alone they were. Her eyes widened slightly and her heartbeat quickened slightly. What was wrong with her? She only ever got this way around Kukai -

Just then, fireworks began exploding in the evening sky.

"Thank you for the memories, Ace," Kairi said.

She began to smile, then frowned and glared at him. He noticed her glare and was startled.

"Wha-?"

"I told you not to call me Ace! And not 'Yaya-senpai' either! Just Yaya!" she yelled, waving her arms back and forth.

"Wah, you're going to tip the cart!" he said.

"I'm not listening!" she shouted, waving her arms even harder.

"Ace, please - I mean - " Kairi tried.

"_Lalalalalalalalala!_" she yelled.

When the ride was over, she continued not talking or listening to him as they walked out of the amusement park.

Eventually, he just stopped trying. They stood leaning against opposite sides of a light post near the parking lot, waiting for their parents. He frowned, wondering why she was making such a big deal out of what he called her.

Something nudged his arm and he saw Pepe holding a poppy flower. He took the flower and remembered that summer when Yaya had worked so hard to make a big ball that would burst during the graduation. They'd filled it with a thousand poppy flowers.

He turned around and held the flower out to Yaya. She blushed slightly and stared at him with a quizzical look.

"Thank you...Yaya," he said.

Her mouth opened slightly with shock and she hugged him again. This time, he knew what to do, and hugged her back.

A car honked at them and they turned to see their cars waiting for them.

"Bye bye, Kairi!" she called, running to her car.

"Goodbye Yaya," he replied, noticing that she hadn't added the "-kun" honorific. Smiling to himself, got into his car.

"Kairi, you're blushing," Yukari said.

"Am I?" he mumbled, staring out the window. Musashi shook his head, giving up on trying to understand.

* * *

Yay, happy chapter! I had fun writing this one and I'm pretty happy about it. I'm working on a picture of the Guardians wearing the middle school uniforms and it actually looks good! So, look forward to that picture soon!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Not Again! Misleading Rumors!**


	11. Not Again! Misleading Rumors!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Eleven - Not Again! Misleading Rumors!**

"Did you hear?"

"I know!"

"I can't believe it."

"Was her father really a secret agent?"

"And they have to keep moving and changing identities?"

"Makoto-senpai found out about it and got Hinamori-san to behave!"

"What happened to her French boyfriend?"

"He broke up with her last month, right?"

"Isn't she dating Tadase-kun?"

"Nah. Anyway, her boyfriend fell in love with someone else."

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing that."

"I don't think that's true," Manami said, frowning.

The girls stared at her with raised eyebrows.

"Well, she's really nice - " Wakana started.

"Wait, here she comes!"

"Quick, before Makoto-senpai sees us with her!"

Without another word, the group of girls quickly ran away, dragging Manami and Wakana with them.

Amu watched them go with a sad expression. More rumors had been spread about her, and these were even worse than the others. The rumors before had built her up, making her seem like somebody to be admired. These rumors were keeping her friends from her. She sat down in her desk and looked at the clock. Just the whole day left...

"I heard she was pretending to be friends with us just to be popular."

She cringed, closing her eyes and leaning her forehead on her knees. It was as if nobody had anything else better to do than gossip about her. At least she was finally in PE. Only a few more hours and the school day would be over, she told herself. She just had to survive for a little while longer.

"Hinamori-san..."

She looked up when the teacher said her name, confused.

"...and Makoto-san," he finished.

Amu froze and her heart began racing.

"Please pick your teams for the soccer match."

Slowly, she stood up and looked at her classmates. Most avoided eye contact, but those that did look at her had either hateful or fearful expressions on their faces. Her heart sunk. This was not going to be good.

One by one they chose their teams, all the while Amu could feel Kiyomi glaring daggers into her back.

"Come on, Amu! Let's Character Change!" Ran encouraged.

Amu shook her head. "No. I have to beat her myself, as I am."

The charas nodded and Ran summoned her pom poms. "Then we'll cheer you on!"

She smiled. "Thank you."

The teacher blew the whistle and they gathered on the field. Amu had so much adrenaline pumping through her veins that she was surprised she was even walking straight. They got into their positions and then...

The game started. Kiyomi raced past her with the ball and Amu charged right after her. She passed it to another team mate, but Manami managed to intercept it. She met Amu's eyes, but looked unsure. In a flash, Kiyomi snatched the ball away and was continuing down the field. One point for Kiyomi.

As the game progressed and Kiyomi's team racked up the points while her team got none, Amu noticed that the only time her team mates went for the ball was when Kiyomi didn't have it, which was rare. Kiyomi dominated and carried her entire team.

"Why aren't you going after the ball?" Amu asked during a timeout.

"You can't tell us what to do!" one of the girls yelled.

Amu blinked, surprised. "But we're losing - "

"Nobody cares!" the girl said.

"I just don't want to go against _her_."

Amu looked at who spoke: a young girl who was even more petite than Rima. She had bright yellow hair in a cute bob and was staring at the ground with her lavender eyes. She looked so small and scared that Amu's heart instantly felt for her.

"It's okay, Emiko," another girl said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You won't have to."

"That's it," Amu said, realizing. "You're all scared of Makoto-senpai."

"Aren't you?" Emiko asked.

She pursed her lips and looked over at the other team, instantly locating the bright green ponytail. Kiyomi - almost as if sensing Amu's look - straightened up and glanced over at them. Then she rolled her eyes like they weren't even worth her attention.

She turned back to her team with fists balled and eyes hard.

"Not anymore," she said. "I've got Kiyomi, you guys just block the others."

They all nodded, seeming unsure and scared of this new proposition, but Amu's new found confidence was intoxicating. Even Emiko looked excited.

The game resumed and Amu's team fought back even harder than before. Amu hounded the president with such ferocity that Kiyomi was losing her touch. Slowly but surely they began to make a comeback. The mood in her team had also shifted. Instead of not trusting Amu and not doing anything, they began to fight for the win and work together.

With only a couple minutes left in the game, they were only a few points away from winning the game. Both teams were running low on energy, but they were also just as eager to keep trying.

They started again and Amu was blocking Kiyomi. One of Amu's team mates had the ball and was about to pass it, so she had to make sure Kiyomi stayed out of the way. Then, the ball soared overhead - in the opposite direction of where it was supposed to go.

"Cover Kiyomi!" she shouted, then tore after the ball.

She knocked it away from the sidelines and began running toward the goal. She didn't think about anything other than running and keeping the ball with her. Members of Kiyomi's team kept trying to steal the ball away but she expertly avoided them. For a second she wondered if Ran had Character Changed without her permission, but it was all her.

A smile read across her face despite the situation. She was actually doing something without having to depend on her charas for help or support. Miki would be proud.

All of a sudden, Kiyomi appeared out of nowhere. Amu instinctively tried guarding the ball, but one of Kiyomi's legs stretched out and kicked Amu's feet out from under her while her hands locked on to Amu's wrists. The ball rolled away and they tumbled to the ground, Amu on top of the president.

Then Kiyomi let out a terrible scream and everybody rushed toward them.

"Hinamori-san, get _off_ of her!" the teacher yelled.

"But, I - " Amu tried.

He pushed her aside and she landed on the grass. Kiyomi was crying and cradling her wrist.

"It hurts," she moaned.

"Makoto-san, I need you to tell me what happened."

Sniffling, she began speaking. "I was just trying to get the ball from her when she...she _attacked_ me! She jumped on me and kicked my shins! Then when we fell she bent my wrist backwards!"

Amu's jaw dropped as the fabricated lie. She looked around at everybody and to her horror they believed her. The girl on her team that had yelled at her earlier was glaring at her with an intensified ferocity. The only people that would look at her all wore expressions of disgust and hatred.

"It hurts!" she howled, the tears coming down her face.

The teacher turned around to look at Amu. His face was so twisted with disgust that Amu wanted to start crying.

"Get out of here," he said. "I will be making a call to your parents and the principal."

She shakily got up off her knees. As she turned, the girls parted quickly. They didn't even want to be near her.

"Why would Hinamori-san - "

"_Shh!_"

Amu turned and saw Emiko's innocent gaze filled with confusion. Tears burning in her eyes, she turned and ran like she'd never ran before. Her legs were pumping and she could barely get a good breath, but she didn't care. She ran into the forest surrounding the school and just kept going.

When she finally slowed and noticed her charas trying to call after her, she noticed where she was standing: outside the planetarium.

Swallowing her sobs, she proceeded to enter the planetarium. It was dark and it seemed like nobody was there. But she still kept walking and then sat down in one of the chairs. Dust rose from the seat and made her sneeze, but she didn't care at that point in time.

Her charas all touched her shoulders with comfort in mind, but it only brought back the way her classmates had looked at her. Kiyomi's astoundingly convincing screams of pain echoed in her ears.

She put her face in her hands and cried long and hard. It was much past the end of school when Tsukasa made his appearance.

"Hinamori-san?" he asked, sitting in the chair next to hers.

She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "I-I...in PE...Makoto-senpai, she - and I...didn't know wh-where else t-to go!" she cried.

He put an arm around her shoulders. "You don't need to explain, I already heard the story. Everybody was very surprised. They didn't see you as the violent type."

"But I'm not!" she exclaimed.

"I know, and I stood up for you during the teacher's meeting. But I hope you realize that this is a very complicated situation. What with the rumors already being spread about you..." He trailed off and she bit back more moans of despair.

"I've foreseen more obstacles for the Guardians," he said. "The future of dreams themselves are depending on this journey that you're undertaking now. You will need the support of your friends, and they will need you too. This is only the beginning."

Although he was probably trying to lighten the burden by warning her of what was to come, it only made her feel more and more depressed.

* * *

Mm, yeah. That was pretty intense to write. I love Tsukasa, tho. ^^ I think I'll try and put him in some more. Maybe. I'll have to see where I can stick him in my master plot line for this story. LOL!

So, I hope you liked it!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: The Line Has Been Crossed!**


	12. The Line Has Been Crossed!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Twelve - The Line Has Been Crossed!**

She'd hit rock bottom. Nobody except for her Guardian friends talked to her anymore. Crowds parted so she could walk by. Threatening and/or insulting notes were found in her bag on an almost daily basis. Teachers gave her dirty looks. Horrible insults were whispered into her ear as she walked through the halls. Her true friends were even being affected by rumors about them.

"Amu-chan?"

She looked up, having forgotten where she was. Tadase smiled down at her and she smiled weakly back. They had all decided to spend a day at the park with Ami since Amu had been so depressed through the week.

"I'm fine, Tadase-kun," she said.

He nodded, but his expression was unbelieving. He held out his hand. "Ami wants you to push her on the swings."

Amu took his hand and they walked toward the swing set together.

Tadase cast a glance at Amu's glum expression. He thought of the president and wondered why Kiyomi wanted to bring Amu down so badly, even going so far as set it up to look like Amu had attacked her? It was both puzzling and frightening, but all he knew was that Amu needed him more than ever, and he was most definitely going to be there for her.

"But Kukai!" Yaya exclaimed, stomping her foot on the ground.

Kukai sighed, feeling even more annoyed than before. Yaya was his friend, and he knew that she got childish like this a lot (Heck, it was her _dream _to be childish), but he just couldn't deal with it at that moment. He was too worried about Utau. Something was wrong and she was most definitely not revealing what. He'd stopped by her studio several times, but Yukari wouldn't let him see her.

"Listen, Yaya, I just don't feel like playing right now," he said, resolutely sitting on a bench.

"Then why did you come?" she asked.

He shrugged and stared at the grass. "I don't know."

"That's not a good reason. Now come play with me!" she said, tugging on his arm again.

"Yaya, stop it!" he said. "Just grow up already!"

Her eyes widened and she wanted to cry, but didn't want to cry in front of him after he'd just told her to grow up. She stomped her foot again and stormed off. She looked around at everybody else. Rikka had gotten Hikaru to try the monkey bars, and he was actually having fun. Shoji was sitting on the grass and watching them. Amu and Tadase were pushing Ami on the swings. Nagi and Rima were sitting with their backs to each other, both looking equally mad. Kairi was staring forlornly at Amu.

Yaya sighed with frustration and sat on the ground, ripping up grass blades. Everybody was busy with their own problems and having their own fun to have fun with Yaya. Even Kairi was too busy staring at his beloved Amu. Of course he still loved Amu. She didn't know why she thought one day at the amusement park would change that.

She paused, surprised at that thought. Did she _want _Kairi to like her that way?

Yaya glanced over at him and blushed at the thought of him looking at her the way he was staring at Amu. But wait...there was something odd about his expression. He seemed almost confused.

Then, he looked her way and their eyes met. She blushed again and stared down at the grass, ripping it up ferociously to cover up her embarrassment.

"Is something wrong, Yaya?" he asked when he came over and sat next to her.

"No," she replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep!" she said, smiling brightly at him.

He looked skeptical but dropped the subject.

"You didn't have to come over here," she told him after a moment.

"I don't want you to be alone," he said.

She smiled at that sentiment, but pushed it away. "No, I'm fine. Go over to Amu."

"Amu?" he repeated. "But she's with Hotori - "

"I saw you looking at her," she cut in, winking at him despite the sadness she felt. She stood and dragged him up with her. "Go! Fight for your love!"

Kairi looked very startled. "Yaya - "

She pushed him in Amu's direction, smiled, and then skipped toward the slide. As she skipped, the smile slowly slipped from her face to be replaced with a look of confusion. What were these feelings bubbling up inside her?

Kairi watched as Yaya skipped away. He sighed and walked toward Amu and Tadase. He thought about Yaya's words as he made his way. Did he love Amu? He didn't feel the same pang of jealousy anymore when he saw her with Tadase. Her smile made him feel happy, but butterflies didn't erupt into his stomach. She was a special person to him, however, and he did want to be close to her. But was that love?

And how did he feel about Yaya? She was a truly interesting creature and he loved seeing all her funny reactions. He felt the need to be close to her, too, and he wanted to make her smile. Was _that_ love? Was he even capable of love at such a young age?

"Hello Kairi-kun!" Amu said, smiling at him. He didn't feel any butterflies.

He smiled back, glad that she was looking happy. Tadase seemed to have that affect on her.

"Glasses boy!" Ami said.

He looked at the little girl with the bright smile. "Yes?"

"Catch me!" she cried, all of a sudden jumping off the swing.

"Ami!" Amu shouted, scared that she'd fall.

"Wah!" he exclaimed, running forward and somehow managing to catch the five year old.

Ami and Kairi looked at each other and then began laughing. Amu, Tadase, and the charas all joined in.

Nagihiko heard the sound of laughter and saw Amu, Tadase, her sister, and Kairi.

"Amu's laughing," he pointed out.

"Mm hmm," Rima replied.

He sighed, wondering why she wouldn't talk to him. She'd been this way ever since he'd found her in the rain weeks ago. All he wanted to do was help her, but she was rejecting everything he said and did.

"Rima-chan - " he tried.

She got up without a word and walked away from him. He watched her go, knowing that chasing after her would do no good. At least not today. He promised himself that he would try and try again until she talked to him.

When she didn't hear footsteps coming after her she breathed a sigh of relief. Constantly dodging Nagi's attempts to talk to her was very tiring after a while.

"Why not tell him, Rima-chan?" Kusukusu asked.

"Because telling him won't change anything," she replied. "Mom and Dad will still be fighting. Telling him won't make them start speaking to each other. Telling him won't make Dad m-move back in..."

Rima felt tears come into her eyes but she quickly took a deep breath and wiped them away. She stared adamantly ahead.

"And neither will crying," she told herself. Kusukusu frowned but didn't add anything. She followed along as Rima began walking around again.

"Why is Rima by herself?" Amu asked. "I thought she was with Nagi."

"Maybe they got into an argument," Tadase said.

"Um, Amu?"

She turned and saw Kukai. He wasn't meeting her eyes and was rubbing the back of his head. Something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" she asked, voicing her thoughts.

"I...I think I'm going to go," he said. "I want to see how Utau is doing."

"Didn't the doctor release her from bedrest?" she asked.

"W-Well, yeah, but - "

He didn't get to finish, because a familiar despairing feeling crept over their hearts.

"No," Amu whispered. "Not today."

She looked at Ami, who had tears in her eyes and was clutching her heart. Amu turned to her charas. "Take care of Ami! Miki, Character Transform!"

In a minute Dia, Su, and Ran had Ami taken care of while the rest of them Character Transformed and raced to where the Broken-Egg was.

"Where's Temari?" Amu asked Nagi.

"With Ami," he replied.

Amu smiled. "Thank you."

He shrugged. "No problem. Now let's get this Broken-Egg."

When they first approached the Broken-Egg, it appeared normal, just sitting in the air like the first one they encountered. But as they got closer it began hurling blobs of dark matter at them. Yaya got hit by one and collapsed on the ground. When they ran over to check on her the area on her arm where she'd been hit had turned gray.

"Don't get hit!" Tadase called to them.

"Get the chara to peek out!" Kairi said.

"Glittering Storm!" Hikaru called out, thrusting his star-topped staff into the air. Bright orange sparkles filled the air. The Broken-Egg launched more dark matter at the cloud of sparkles and it slowly disappeared.

"Colorful Canvas!" Amu said. The rainbow hued paint shot toward the Broken-Egg but had no effect.

The Broken-Egg seemed to become agitated by their attempts at purifying it and launched even more dark matter in every direction.

"Duck!" Kukai yelled.

"Holy Crown!"

Tadase released the huge yellow crown to protect them, but Rima was too far away. She opened her mouth and released a scream as a massive shot of dark matter headed straight for her -

She opened her eyes and saw Nagi lying on the ground in front of her. He'd taken the hit for her and hit entire upper body was gray. He smiled weakly at her and she stared at him with shock. Why would he risk his life for her after the way she'd been treating him?

"Gentle Sunshine!" Rikka said.

A ray of sunlight came down from the sky and shone on the Egg. Its attacks slowed to a stop and what was left of it cracked open, revealing a pair of orange eyes.

"I did it!" Rikka exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Come on, Rikka!" Amu said.

They put their hands together to form the heart and shouted, "Negative Heart: Lock On! Open Heart!"

Blue and pink hearts soared through the air and went toward the Broken-Egg, turning it back to normal.

"_Thank you_," a soft voice said. Then, the Heart's Egg zoomed away.

The Guardians turned back to normal and they immediately turned their attention to Yaya and Nagi.

Even in their normal state, they were still gray where they'd gotten hit.

"It hurts," Yaya whimpered.

Amu winced, remembering the incident in PE that week.

"It'll be okay," Kairi told her. Yaya cried anyway.

"Nagi? Nagi? ! _Nagihiko!_"

They turned and saw Rima shouting at Nagi's unconscious form. Slowly, his eyelids fluttered open and he looked at her.

"I'm fine," he croaked. "See? It's fading already."

After a few moments the edges of the gray began to disappear a little.

"Rikka, can you Character Transform again?" Amu asked.

"Sure thing! Come on, Hotaru! My own heart...unlock! Character Transformation: Pure Feeling!"

"Good, now use your attack on Nagi and Yaya."

"Gentle Sunshine!"

The light came down on Yaya (who stopped crying) and Nagi, and, sure enough, the gray disappeared rapidly. Yaya's spot was gone in a few seconds and Nagi was better after a minute.

"Good job!" Hikaru said as Rikka returned to normal. She grinned happily.

"Do you feel alright?" Tadase asked.

Yaya pressed her fingers on her arm and nodded. "A little sore."

"Fujisaki?"

"I need some rest, but I'm fit," he replied, standing up with Rima's help.

"Where's Makoto-kun?" Rikka asked, looking around.

"He's gone?" Kairi said.

"He wasn't in the battle," Hikaru pointed out.

They didn't have much time to ponder this because right at that moment Ami came running full speed toward them with tears streaming down her face.

"_Nee-chan!_" she cried.

"Ami!" Amu exclaimed, falling to the ground when her little sister flung herself into Amu's arms.

"What's wrong? ! What happened? !" she asked.

"M-My heart...so...c-cold!" she cried.

"Oh," Amu said, sighing. It was just the effect of the Broken-Egg. "That's alright, it - "

"N-No!" Ami yelled. "My dream...w-was b-b-break - "

"What? !" She pulled the little girl off her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "Tell me what happened."

Ami swallowed. "...Nee-chan! My h-heart...voice said...'Are you sure?'...s-so cold! Nee-chan, s-save me!"

She burst into sobs again and buried her face into Amu's neck. Everybody was silent, stunned by this information. It wasn't the effect of the Broken-Egg, they realized. The master has actually attacked Ami.

"Amu?" Rima said tentatively.

Her face hardened. "Whoever this...this 'Broken-Egg master' is, I'm going to get him. He just crossed the line."

* * *

So I got my first hate review. It makes me feel sad, but I'm also completely dismissing it since the person used really bad grammar and didn't suggest how I could make it better, other than saying get rid of Kiyomi. Sorry, I can't. I shouldn't feel too down about it, though, because not everybody is going to like my story. Heck, some people don't even like Harry Potter!

To get away from that sad note, what I really liked about this chapter was that it kind of focused on what each character was feeling and it just reminds us what they're going through. They're only middle schoolers, for gosh sakes! LOL!

A/N: Hikaru's 'Glittering Storm' attack and Rikka's 'Gentle Sunshine' are my creations.

Also! After the next chapter, this will be the longest story I've ever written on FanFiction!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Yaya, Open Your Heart!**


	13. Yaya, Open Your Heart!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen - Yaya, Open Your Heart!**

"Alright, let's go over this again," Tadase said, rubbing his forehead with frustration. "What happened from start to finish?"

They all sighed with annoyance. Amu stared blankly at the table. She barely got any sleep last night. Ami was still incredibly upset and made Amu sleep in her bed. Ami kept waking up every two minutes screaming for Amu to save her.

"Amu-chan told us to go take care of Ami, so we led her away from the Broken-Egg and to the rose bushes," Dia said.

"And Nagi told me to go along," Temari added.

Su began, "So we were smelling the flowers to distract her when - "

"There was a terrible cold feeling and we passed out!" Ran exclaimed.

"When we came to, Ami was gone," Dia finished.

"Why did you pass out?" Rikka asked.

"We were fine until the coldness came. It wasn't like the feeling of a Broken-Egg," Temari said.

"It was so much stronger. We couldn't move, and then we passed out," Ran said, shuddering.

"That must be the effect of the master on shugo chara," Tadase said.

The Guardians mused over this.

"What's there to think about?" Amu asked angrily. "This was a _direct attack _on my sister!"

"I don't think it was an attack," Kairi said gently. "I think the master was sending us a message."

"Why do you think that?" she asked.

"Because Ami heard, 'Are you sure?' Not, 'Impossible,' like Nakagawa-san and the others," he said.

"But what message would the master want to send us?" Kukai asked.

"That he can attack our family," Rima said.

The remark hung heavy in the air. Yaya then yawned loudly and they looked at her.

"I'm tired!" she said, frowning. "Why did we have to have a meeting before school?"

"We need to figure out the master's motives and who it is as soon as possible," Hikaru said. "For the safety of everybody."

They nodded and Amu turned to Shoji.

"Why weren't you in the battle?" she asked.

"I told you when we arrived at the park that I couldn't stay long. I left before the Broken-Egg appeared," he explained.

Tadase's watch beeped and the middle schoolers stood up. "We should get going, or we'll be late. We'll resume the meeting after school."

SCSCSC

Yet again, Yaya was left alone. Amu had to go pick up Ami from school, and she didn't want to leave the little girl alone. Tadase got held up at the school. Kukai and Shoji simply weren't there. Rikka and Hikaru were talking to their teachers. Rima's parents had arrived to pick her up. Nagi had to practice dancing. Kairi was also held up.

She sat down and pulled out her cell phone, dialing Kukai's number. After three rings he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Kukai!" she exclaimed, sitting up. "Why aren't you at the Garden?"

"...I'm busy."

"With what? Tadase-kun told us - "

"Yaya, I just can't, okay? Leave me alone!" He hung up.

She sat there, stunned, the phone still at her ear. Why did Kukai yell at her? All she did was call him. She didn't understand why he was so annoyed with her.

"_Just grow up already!_" That was what he'd said to her yesterday at the park. Maybe she was too childish for him.

She put her phone back in her pocket and put her head on the table. Of course. She was such a baby that he didn't have time for her anymore. Nobody had time for Yaya anymore. Amu and Tadase were too in love to notice her. Rima and Nagi were wrapped up in their feud. Kukai thought she was immature. Hikaru didn't need her for anything. Shoji probably hated her. Rikka looked up to Amu, not Yaya. Kairi loved Amu. Even her parents payed more attention to her brother Tsubasa.

"Ya...Yaya!" Pepe called. Her egg was closing in around her.

She pressed her fingers to her arm where she'd gotten hit by the dark matter. It didn't feel so bad anymore. Truly, it hadn't _hurt_ in the true sense of the word. It was mostly scary. She had felt so full of despair. But...maybe it wasn't so bad?

Yaya exhaled slowly. She didn't even contribute anything to the group. She hadn't even made a chara peek out from a Broken-Egg. All she did was complain and be cute. What use was that if nobody paid attention to you?

Nobody would even notice if she disappeared.

Her eyes filled with tears and she put her face in her hands as she began crying.

_I'm such a baby_, she thought despairingly. _But isn't that my dream?_

_"_Impossible..." a voice whispered.

Her eyes widened but she didn't have a chance to react, for Pepe's egg had turned into a Broken-Egg. Yaya turned completely gray and slumped over, falling out of her chair and onto the ground.

"Yaya, what's - " Kairi stopped dead when he saw the Broken-Egg. He'd felt the coldness and was worried when it was coming from the Royal Garden, but never thought that it would be Yaya's heart.

Quickly, he pulled out his cell phone and texted Amu, then he Character Transformed.

"Pepe!" he called.

The Egg turned toward him and then it slammed down onto the ground. It let loose a terrible wailing and started rolling back and forth. The chairs went flying and the table was crushed.

"Yaya!" he exclaimed, rushing forward and snatching up her body right before the Broken-Egg hit her.

The Egg began rolling toward him, screaming as it did. He dodged, but it continued coming after him. Wherever he ran the Egg followed, smashing everything in its path. Eventually the Egg slowed and just began breaking on the ground. Only about half of it was left. He had to hurry.

The only attack he had was Lightning Blade, and that would only hurt the Broken-Egg. What could he do?

Gently, he laid Yaya on the ground.

"Pepe! Yaya!" he called. "You don't have to feel this way!"

"_Nobody likes a baby..._"

He looked down at Yaya and saw that she was talking. Her voice sounded lifeless.

"That's not true! Babies make people smile and feel happy!" he protested.

"_Babies are useless..._"

"Don't you remember?" he asked. "When you worked so hard to make a ball to explode at graduation? It made everybody smile and feel happy."

"_...nobody cares..._"

"That's not true," he said, kneeling next to her. "Amu cares. Hotori-kun cares. Souma-kun - "

"_No he doesn't._"

"I care," he said, putting a hand on her arm.

Pepe poked her head out of the bottom of the egg.

"Kairi!" Amu exclaimed, running inside as Amulet Clover. "What - "

"Hurry, Hinamori-san!" he said, pointing at Pepe's egg.

"Negative Heart: Lock On! Open Heart!"

Green hearts shone from Amu's fingers out toward the Pepe's egg. It slowly regained its shell and returned to its normal appearance. Then it flew back to Yaya. Yaya also returned to her normal colors.

Kairi breathed a sigh of relief when Yaya began to open her eyes. But instead of looking happy and confident like the previous Broken-Egg victims, her eyes instantly filled with tears. She sat up and cradled Pepe's egg.

"Yaya - " Amu started.

"I...I'm sorry, Pepe," she mumbled, then fell over into Kairi's arms.

* * *

That was a sad chapter. I feel sad now. Yikes.

I want to give a BIG THANK YOU to everybody who has reviewed. It's you guys who make me want to keep going. And now this is my longest story on FanFiction! Happy day!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: The Fragile Heart**


	14. The Fragile Heart

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen - The Fragile Heart**

After Yaya had fainted, Amu repaired the Garden with Remake Honey. Then, she and Kairi took Yaya home. Yaya's parents were shocked to see their daughter unconscious, but Amu said that she got over excited and fainted.

How could this have happened? Yaya, the happiest and most confident of them all...got a Broken-Egg. It was practically unbelievable, and yet...it happened.

Amu stood up and faced the Guardians.

"Before we begin the meeting," Amu said, "I need to tell you all why Yaya wasn't at school today."

She met everybody's eyes - except Kairi, who was staring at the table with a sad expression - before continuing.

"Yesterday after school, while all of us were supposed to be having a meeting, Yaya..." She swallowed, "...got a Broken-Egg."

There was a collective gasp from around the table.

"But why wasn't she at school?" Rikka asked. "Most people feel better after having their eggs healed."

"Yes, but most people think they simply fainted," Tadase said. "Yaya knows that she lost faith and almost let her dream break."

"Pepe went back into Yaya's heart," Kairi said.

"I kind of know how Yaya feels," Amu said quietly. "When Dia turned into an X-Egg...I didn't know what to do. I didn't even tell you guys for a long time. I think we all should go visit Yaya, since support is the best thing we can offer right now."

A murmur of general agreement came from everybody except Kukai.

"I can't," he said.

"Why not?" Amu asked, her eyes narrowing.

"I...I'm busy."

"I don't think that repeatedly going to Utau's studio and repeatedly getting no for an answer counts as being _busy_," she said stiffly.

"I can't go and see Yaya," he persisted.

"You're practically her best friend!" Amu shot back, rising from her chair.

"I can't!" he yelled, getting up from his.

Electricity and fury filled the air as they glared at each other. Tadase rose and they sat down.

"Anybody who can go should go. We're leaving now," he said firmly.

The only people who stayed behind were Kukai and Shoji.

Amu fumed the entire way to Yaya's house. How could Kukai act so obnoxiously? It was like he wasn't even Kukai anymore. Something had been bothering him for a while, and it probably had to do with Utau, but why couldn't he see Yaya?

"Hello, Mrs. Yuiki," Tadase said when the door opened. "Is Yuiki-san feeling well enough for visitors?"

"Oh, um...yes, I suppose so," she said, stepping aside for them to enter. "It's just that this cold came on so suddenly..."

"I understand," he said, smiling at her. She nodded and they went to Yaya's room.

When they walked into the room it was completely dark. Tadase flicked the light switch and they saw Yaya laying on her bed and hugging a pillow to her stomach while staring up at the ceiling. Pepe's egg was sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Hello, Yaya," Amu said.

"Yaya-senpai!" Rikka exclaimed, running forward and kneeling by Yaya's bed.

"Why are you here?" Yaya asked. They flinched at the lack of emotion in her voice.

"We were worried about you, Yaya," Rima said.

She glanced over at them; her eyes were red and puffy. "Where's Kukai?"

Amu swallowed. "He's, uh...He's not here."

Yaya turned her head away from them and put the pillow over her head. Muffled sounds of crying were heard.

"We should go," Tadase said. "We'll see you later, Yuiki-san."

As they shuffled out the door, Kairi looked around and then sat by Yaya's bed, waiting until she stopped crying to talk.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I betrayed Pepe-chan," she mumbled. "She won't talk to me."

He nodded slowly. It was thing when you don't believe in your dream, it was another thing entirely when your dream doesn't believe in you.

"Why did you betray her?"

"Everybody was too busy for Yaya. Amu-chi...a-and Tadase-kun are in l-love, Nagi and R-Rima...they have th-their own p-p-problems, K-Kukai hates me..."

"What?" he asked, sitting up.

"I c-called him b-before..." She trailed off, but he knew what she meant. "He told me t-to grow up."

Kairi's eyes widened and he then realized why Kukai so frantically insisted that he refused to see Yaya. Kukai felt guilty. But why would he have said that in the first place?

"Yaya, what he said was out of line," he said. "There's nothing wrong with your dream."

She nodded slightly. "I-I know...it's just...nobody had t-time for me anymore. I m-might as well...be-be invisible!" She was becoming more hysterical.

He opened his mouth to speak but she cut across him.

"E-Even you...you are t-too busy being in l-love with Amu-chi," she said.

"No," he said.

She peeked out at him from under the pillow. "What?"

He thought about it for a second before replying. "I am not in love with Hinamori-san," he said. "I most certainly admire her, and I did have a crush on her, but I'm not in love with her."

He reached out and put a hand on her cheek.

"Didn't I tell you before?" he asked. "You're not alone, Yaya."

She looked at him with tear filled eyes, but this time she was smiling.

"You have to promise me that you'll work hard for your dream," he said. "There's no point in being cute if you don't do anything. Remember, babies have to work hard in order to learn how to talk and walk."

"Yes," she said, nodding. "Yes, I - "

She stopped and sat up, the pillow falling to the bed. Pepe's egg was floating in the air and a zig zag crack wound its way around the center. Yaya sucked in a breath and put her hands over her mouth in shock. The two halves of the egg sprang apart and Pepe flew at Yaya. Yaya grabbed the chara and hugged her tightly.

"Pepe-chan, I'm so sorry," she said.

"It's okay," Pepe said. "It's okay."

Kairi smiled and got up from the floor. He headed for the door when Yaya said,

"Thank you, Kairi-kun."

He smiled at her. "Anytime, Yaya-chan."

* * *

Sorry this took so long. I had it done and finished ages ago...and then I accidentally deleted it. So...yay, cuteness! I had planned to keep Pepe in her egg longer, but, alas, I couldn't fit it in to my master plotline! So, there you have it! Kaiya fluff!

Also, new summary! Please read!

For those of you wondering what's going on with Kukai and Utau, well...you don't have to wait any longer!

Let's review, shall we?  
Someone (Broken-Egg master) is breaking people's hearts. Amu has a terrible school life and is angry at the Broken-Egg master; has to choose between Ikuto or Tadase. Ikuto is back. Tadase is becoming a leader and is concerned for Amu. Makoto Kiyomi is the mean president and seems to have it out for Amu. Makoto Shoji is the joker and he's really mysterious. Utau is bulimic and all emotional, and she's also avoiding Kukai. Kukai is emotionally upset by Utau's avoiding him and is taking it out on everyone. Rima's parents are fighting and her dad moved out; she's really upset and not telling Nagi. Nagi is really concerned about Rima and it's hurting him. Yaya was feeling abandoned and worthless, almost lost Pepe, and got comforted by Kairi. Kairi resolved his feelings about Amu and comforted Yaya. Rikka and Hikaru are being Rikka and Hikaru.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Oh No, Utau!**


	15. Oh No, Utau!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen - Oh No, Utau!**

The next day, Kukai walked down the street with his hands in his pockets, thinking about what had happened at the Guardian meeting. Yaya had arrived and blatantly ignored him with a cold air. She seemed alive and vibrant in everything she did, going about things with a new found confidence. It seemed that she hadn't told anybody about their phone call, but it didn't seem to matter since everybody hated him anyway.

Tadase had treated him fairly, but with a stiff manner. Rima didn't talk to him before and she most certainly didn't talk to him now. Nagihiko was kind, but his smiles were strained. Yaya ignored him. Kairi looked at him with such a powerful disdain that he actually felt scared. Rikka acted the same as always; Hikaru and Shoji, too. Amu, on the other hand, took every opportunity to send him disapproving glares.

He turned and punched the nearest building. The people inside looked scared and he walked away.

"Kukai - " Daichi said.

"Shut up!" he snapped.

They didn't understand. They couldn't understand. Nobody knew how much Utau's betrayal had hurt him. He'd opened up to her, told her everything about him. The pressure from his older brothers, his insecurities, how scared he was of the real world despite his happy-go-lucky attitude. She didn't laugh at him or call him a kid. She'd leaned her head on his shoulder and told him that she felt the same way. Then she laughed and said that they were both babies. He laughed and agreed.

Then, all of a sudden, she brushed him aside like he was nothing. Was he really so expendable?

Someone ran into his shoulder and he winced, turning around to face that person, then stopping dead in his tracks.

"Utau," he said, mouth open.

Her eyes widened for a split second before she regained her cool composure.

"Yes, Souma-kun?" she said.

He flinched. She'd returned to last name basis.

"I...I was trying to talk to you at your studio," he said slowly. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Obviously, I am," she said.

She wouldn't meet his eyes, and he could tell something was up. Her clothes seemed baggier, and Iru and Eru were hanging back, looking quiet and sad. Dark shadows were under her guarded violet eyes.

"No," he said, "You're not."

She pursed her lips and looking him straight in the eyes. "What do you know about it? !"

"Nothing if you don't tell me," he insisted.

"You're such a child!" she exclaimed.

"Where's this coming from? !" he asked angrily.

"You have such a simple view of the world," she snapped. "If you fail at first, try and try again. Be yourself. Everyone's special in their own way. The world hasn't turned its back on you, you've turned your back on the world. Believe in yourself. There's good in everybody. _Everyone has a choice_."

He opened his mouth, but she cut him off.

"I didn't have a choice."

Kukai's eyes widened slightly and he glanced at the ground. What was she talking about? What had she gotten herself into?

He kicked at the ground to cover up his worries. "I thought we were happy together."

"You thought wrong," she said harshly.

He looked at her, met her glare head on. "Fine. Have a nice life alone."

Utau watched him leave, heart beating painfully for him. She closed her eyes and turned around.

"You don't need him," she whispered. "You don't need anyone. Through that comes strength. Through strength will you come out on top."

That morning her mother outright accused her of being bulimic at breakfast when she was fiddling with her toast. That wasn't true. Sure, she ate every now and then, but she purged immediately afterward. She didn't binge, although she had cravings. She'd gone the entire week only drinking water. She wasn't bulimic, she was a purging anorexic.

She frowned, surprised to hear herself think it.

"Purging anorexic," she whispered, then looked around quickly to see if anyone heard. Nobody was there.

She smiled a little bit. Anorexia wasn't an enemy, it was a friend, waiting in the dark to comfort you with hunger pains and low weight.

"Look, Tomoya! It's Hoshina Utau!"

She turned away from the sound, putting up her hood and whipping on her sunglasses. When she peeked around, she saw a mother and daughter staring at a poster. She let out a breath of relief.

"Do you want a CD?" the mother asked.

The girl shook her head. "No."

"Why not? You love Utau."

"Not anymore," she said. "Her singing is great, but her songs these days are so sad. I don't like listening to them."

"Alright. Well, come on then."

Utau stood there until their footsteps were gone. Then she fell forward onto her knees, her body shaking as tears welled up into her eyes.

"Utau," Iru said.

"Utau-chan - " Eru began.

"I'm fine!" she yelled.

Her dreams had just been destroyed and she felt as frail and broken as a little girl with a bruised knee. Iru was born from wanting to be a star and have an audience. She wanted to make people happy with her songs, and Eru came from that. How could she accomplish either of those when her songs made people _sad?_

"_Is something wrong, Utau? You sound distracted. People aren't going to listen to you if you can't focus!_" Yukari said that morning at rehearsal after the confrontation with her mother.

Of course nobody would listen to her. Who would listen to a girl who couldn't make even her own brother smile? Ikuto was disappointed in her, she knew. So was her mother, and Yukari. Probably the Guardians and their friends. Maybe even her father, too, and that was why he'd left. Who would want a failure of a daughter? Not Tsukiyomi Aruto, famous violinist. She would only taint his image.

She didn't even belong in her family. Ikuto was a prodigy. Her mother was the heiress of the Hoshina financial group. Her father was famous. And who was she? A failure, a has-been, worthless.

Utau closed her eyes and put her hands over her ears, blocking out the screams of Iru and Eru as they were pulled back into their eggs.

If she couldn't smile, how could she expect others to smile? Her dream was -

"Impossible."

Utau's heart froze over and she began to resist the gray spreading across her body. Then, she relaxed and gave in, slumping over on the ground. It was so much easier to give in than to keep fighting. She wondered why she struggled so much in the first place. All of her suffering and pain could have been avoided if she'd only sunk into the black void that was opening up before her.

A faint scream from her heart reached her. Iru? Eru? Who cared? She didn't need them. She didn't need anybody. Not Ikuto, not Kukai, not Amu, and most definitely not her parents or Yukari. All she needed was herself and her good friend, anorexia.

She watched silently as black pieces of egg shell fell to the ground and disappeared.

When the last shell was gone, something snapped inside her and the emptiness spread completely. She felt nothing. Not happiness, not sadness, not anger or pain. Just indifference. Slowly she rose, examining her gray skin and clothes, then shrugging.

A figure emerged from the bushes. "Perfect. The final piece to the puzzle. Come along Utau."

The figure began walking away.

Utau pulled herself up off the ground, shoulders slumped over and arms at her sides. She slowly followed, dragging her feet along as she went.

* * *

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry this is out late. I had so much work to do, and then I was away for a band clinic on the weekend, then we got snowed in for the night on Tuesday when we were leaving, and then I had more makeup work to do yesterday, and...well, I'm sorry. Plus, I was working on outlining a new trailer for this story with video clips instead of pictures. **Does anybody know where I can download RAW Shugo Chara episodes for legally, without torrents, and free?** It would help a lot. ^^

So, yes, I was looking up bulimia and discovered that **what ****Utau had was actually purging anorexia**. I was really creeped out when I was writing this chapter. Ugh. Sorry. But I like that Kukai explained his un-Kukai-ness lately.

Anyway, from now on chapters will (hopefully) be out soon. I hope they don't disappoint!

On another note (gosh, a lot of notes) I have created **poll on my profile to vote for your favorite Shugo pairings!** **Note:** This poll doesn't affect anything int the story. It's simply me being curious as to where the fandom lies.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review of PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: The Identity of the Broken-Egg Master!**

(*dun dun duuuuuunnnnn!* lol)


	16. The Identity of the BrokenEgg Master!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

A/N: Souko is Utau and Ikuto's mother. Yukari is being called Nikaidou-san by Tadase to be respectful. Yuu Nikaidou is Nikaidou-sensei.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen - The Identity of the Broken-Egg Master!**

"Amu-chan!"

Amu turned around to see Tadase waving at her. She blushed instantly and waved back. He ran forward to her, his arms outstretched. She smiled and opened her arms as well. Her heart was threatening to beat right out of her chest -

Her phone went off and she raised her head off the pillow. She groaned and hit her head with her pillow, then grabbed her phone and angrily answered it.

"Hello?"

"Amu?"

"_Ikuto? !_ What do you - "

"Have you heard from Utau?"

"What?"

"_Have you heard from Utau? !_"

"I - no!"

"Anything? Anything at all? A text, a message - "

"No, nothing! What's happening?"

She didn't get an answer, only the beginning of what was probably a string of curses and a dial tone. She closed the phone and leaned back on her pillows, her mind racing. What happened to Utau?

SCSCSC

"Is there any new information about the Broken-Eggs?" Tadase asked.

Everyone shook their heads and Tadase continued.

"It seems that something is very wrong with Hoshina Utau," he said. "Ikuto-nii-san called me last night, and their mother called me this morning. Sanjo-kun's sister called shortly after. Ikuto didn't elaborate, and Souko-san and Nikaidou-san told me that she's gone missing. Has anyone else been contacted?"

Amu looked around and then spoke up. "Ikuto called me last night asking where she was and if she'd talked to me. I said no and he hung up."

"Why did she run away?" Kukai asked urgently. "When was the last time they saw her?"

"Do you know something, Souma-kun?" Tadase asked.

Everyone looked at him and he sunk back into his chair. "I saw her in town a couple days ago."

"What did she say?"

"She told me how frustrated she was with my 'simple view of life' and that she...she didn't have a choice. She looked tired, like she could fall over at any second. Iru and Eru weren't talking," he said quietly.

Everyone looked alarmed. Tadase rose out of his seat. "We should go and look for - "

"Hotori-kun," Kairi interrupted. "What about the Broken-Egg patrols?"

Tadase paused, thinking for a moment. "Hiiragi-san, Ichinomiya-kun, Makoto-kun: you three go on patrol. Amu-chan, you go with - "

"No," she said. "Utau's my friend. I'm looking, too. Rikka can purify X-Eggs on her own now."

"Alright then," he turned to the three chosen Guardians. "Ichinomiya-kun, you're the King now. Remember that."

Hikaru nodded, then he left with Rikka and Shoji.

"Tadase-kun, what's happening?" Amu asked.

"According to Ikuto, Nikaidou-san, and Souko-san, she's been rather unstable lately. She's been offered to tour in American for a year, but she'd have to sign on with that company. Souko-san says she's been skipping meals more often. And Ikuto..." Tadase swallowed. "He says that he fears for her life."

"What are we waiting for? !" Kukai asked, leaping up from his seat, the chair falling over.

Tadase's phone rang and he took a look at it. "It's Nikaidou-san. Hello?...What?...No...Right away...Yes...Goodbye."

"What's happening?" Nagi asked.

"Utau's putting on a concert, and Nikaidou-san didn't know about it," he said.

"Let's go!" Yaya said. "Utau-chan helped me out once, now I want to help her."

"Alright," Tadase said. The Guardians left their seats and raced out of the Gardens.

"Wait!" Rima called. Everyone skidded to a halt, then looked at what Rima was pointing at.

It was a big gray poster of Utau standing on a stage and singing. The poster declared that it was free to attend. What disturbed them most was the dead look in Utau's eyes like she'd had her eggs marked with an X or Broken.

Without a word, they tore the poster down and ran off.

SCSCSC

When they arrived, Souko, Yukari, Nikaidou, and Ikuto were waiting for them.

"What took so long?" Ikuto asked, his voice almost a growl.

"Ikuto..." Souko said gently, putting a hand on his arm.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"It's alright," Amu said. Their eyes met and she could instantly see the pain and fear he was feeling. He looked away after a second.

"What's the situation?" Tadase asked.

"Security won't let me inside," Yukari said. "It's like they have some sort of spell on them. Their eyes..."

"We understand," Tadase said.

"So what do we do now?" Nagi asked.

"We buy tickets and see the show," Ikuto answered, and strode quickly over to the ticket booth.

Souko walked over to the Guardians. "I'm sorry for his behavior. We're all just very worried about our Utau-chan."

Tadase put a hand on her shoulder. "We all feel the same way."

She smiled gently. "Thank you very much."

"Does he know that the tickets are free?" Rima asked.

They turned to see Ikuto arguing with the ticket man. Souko was about to walk forward, but Amu beat her to it.

"Ikuto," Amu said.

"I told you, I'm paying," he growled at the man. The ticketer's eyes were the same as the secutiry guards' and Utau's.

"They're free, Ikuto," she said quietly.

He turned and looked at her, then back at the man. "Fine. A donation. Now give me eleven tickets."

Once Ikuto got his tickets, he and Amu walked over to the group.

"Why did you insist on paying?" she asked as they walked.

"It's all I can do," Ikuto replied.

"Why are there tickets if it's free?" Rima asked. "Can't we just walk in?"

"It's a way of regulating how many seats are left," Yukari replied. "It's also to keep track of how many people came."

"What do we do now?" Kukai asked.

"We wait," Tadase answered.

SCSCSC

After three hours of sitting outside the concert hall (Ikuto refused to go anywhere else) they found themselves in their seats and waiting once again.

"Who is that?" Amu asked, leaning over to see the text that Tadase got.

"Hiiragi-san," he said.

"Rikka? What happened?" she asked.

"Nothing, apparently. No Broken-Eggs at all. But Ichinomiya-kun's making them keep patrolling."

Amu nodded and turned to her right, looking up at Ikuto and feeling frightened by the pained and anxious look on his face. "It's going to be alright."

He looked down at her and nodded slightly, then locked his stare on the stage.

Soon enough, the lights dimmed.

"Everyone has their shugo chara?" Tadase asked, looking down the row. All the Guardians nodded, and Ikuto hung his head.

He nodded. "Alright. Be on guard."

An emotionless male voice floated through the speakers. "Please put your hands together for Hoshina Utau as we start off with an old favorite, Black Diamond."

Amu felt someone grab her hand and she turned to see it was Ikuto. He was trying to hide his worry, but she could see right through his mask. She smiled and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

A spotlight shone on the stage and there stood an entirely gray Utau. They all went on the edge of their seats as it dawned on them: her eggs had been broken completely. They hadn't suspected that with the entire poster being gray. To the Guardians, it was a shock. To Kukai, it was all his fault.

Utau began singing in a complete deadpan. No emotion, no passion...nothing. Amu looked around and saw the audience fixated on her. She felt frightened. What was going on?

It seemed to happen all at once. When Utau reached the second verse of her song, hundreds of Heart's Eggs were pulled out from the audience. Everyone fell asleep, except for her group of friends.

"Hurry!" Tadase exclaimed, jumping out of his seat.

"My own heart," they chorused, "Unlock!"

Once they had Character Transformed, they raced forward to the stage, followed by the adults and Ikuto.

"Each of you choose an egg and make the chara peek out. Then Amu-chan will take care of them," he said.

But before they had the chance to initiate Tadase's plan, a terribly cruel laugh filled the air. They froze and turned as the Broken-Egg master stepped on stage.

"M-Makoto-senpai? !" Amu stuttered.

"Duh," she said. "Honestly, it was so amusing watching your and your little friends running around trying to save everybody's dreams. But, you've been making my job much harder, you know. You're such a nuisance."

"How could you do this?" Amu asked. "Can't you see how badly you're hurting them?"

"I know how it feels to have your dream broken, Hinamori Amu," she snapped, then turned to her side. "Kara!" she called.

The Guardians all let out collective gasps as a little gray shugo chara with a ripped dress and a sad expression floated into view.

"My own heart...unlock!" Kiyomi said. "Character Transformation: Broken Star."

She turned to them and glared.

"If you want to save everyone's dreams and your precious Hoshina Utau, you'll have to go through me," she growled.

* * *

Well, the secret's out! Makoto Kiyomi is the Broken-Egg master! I hope you like this chapter!

Not much to say this time other than December is going to be an extremely busy month for me, so I'll try to get the next chapter out soon, but no promises. School comes first, sorry.

Other than that, I'd like to issue a **MASSIVE ****THANK YOU** to all my reviewers! Love you guys!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~K

**Next Episode: Extra: Amu in Wonderland! *Part One***


	17. Extra: Amu in Wonderland! Part One

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

A/N: The Shugo Chara characters are all OOC, cuz...well, they're not themselves, they're Wonderland characters.

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen - Extra: Amu in Wonderland! *Part 1***

Amu sat outside at a park, staring up at the clouds. With a sigh, she fell onto her back, absentmindedly stroking her kitten, Dinah. She had the weirdest dream last night. There was a woman shrouded in mist telling her to find herself! What was that supposed to mean?

"Dinah, I just don't understand," she said.

"The name's not Dinah~nya!"

Amu sat up with a start and stared at her shaggy blue kitten. "Wh-What?"

The kitten licked its paw. "The name's Yoru~nya, and I'm a male~nya!"

"You're talking," she said. "Cats don't talk."

"Details, details~nya. It's time you found yourself~nya!" he replied nonchalantly.

She sighed. "And where would I 'find myself,' Mr. Talking-Cat?"

If cats could smile, Yoru definitely was. "You'll know where to go~nya!"

"What do you mean?"

"Can't say~nya!" he exclaimed, then jumped off her lap and sprinted away.

"Wait, Dinah - I mean, Yoru!" But it was too late; the kitten had disappeared from sight.

How was she supposed to know where to go? There was nobody in the park except for her and a couple birds. Maybe there was a secret door in the park, behind some bushes or in a hedge. Maybe a magician would show up and just _poof!_ to make her find herself?

Amu sighed. It was impossible. She decided that she would forget about the dream and her talking kitten. It was hot and she was being delusional -

She stopped and stared when she was a boy with blonde hair, white bunny ears and a tail hopping down the sidewalk. He wore a red waistcoat and matching shorts.

_I'm dreaming,_ she told herself._ I'm dreaming, I'm dream_ -

She heard a cough and looked up into the vivid red eyes of the rabbit-boy.

"Come on, Amu-chan," he said. "It's time to go!"

He reached out and took her hand. Dumbly, she followed, her mind going blank.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," he said. He flashed her a smile and she blushed.

The rabbit-boy's hopping was a very inefficient way of getting anywhere and she was getting frustrated with their minor progress down the path.

"This is very slow," she complained.

He looked at her, affronted, then pulled out an old fashioned pocket watch. Her jaw dropped. Who used a _pocket watch_ anymore?

"You're right!" he exclaimed. "We're late!"

Without warning, he took her hand again and went in an all out sprint down the path and into the trees at an incredible speed. He was going so fast that he was dragging her the entire way.

Abruptly, they stopped in front of a tree with a large rabbit hole hole at the base.

"Where are we?" she panted, being out of breath from screaming.

"There," he said, pointing. "Or, we will be there. Now, it's time to go!"

He suddenly pushed her over and she fell down into the hole. At first, she expected to hit the bottom. Instead, she continued falling, and as she fell she became more and more scared. Her fall was slow at first, but it steadily became faster. The most random objects (from rocking chairs and marmalade to 15-speed bicycles and lollipops) whizzed past her.

_I just want to wake up,_ she thought. _Please, I just want to see the sun again, and feel excitement and -_

She stopped and put a hand to her heart as she felt a great warmth expand in her chest.

Tiny pink wings were at her wrists and ankles and she soon became in control of her fall. She could angle herself down and go quickly, or simply sit in the air and look at a book from a passing bookshelf. Soon enough, she spied the bottom of the hole and landed nicely on a pile of leaves and twigs.

Amu smiled and then looked down at her clothes: they'd changed from a shirt and jeans to a blue dress with a white apron. Embroidered on the waistband of the apron were red hearts. She reached up and felt a headband in her hair, and looked down to see striped stockings and black shoes.

She stared, shocked for a second, then reminded herself that it was all a dream and nothing really mattered while she was here.

She recovered herself and stepped out of the hollowed out tree (for that was where she'd landed) and found herself in a flower garden. She walked forward, carefully trying not to step on any flowers, when she heard a voice.

"Psst! You there!"

She stopped and looked around, but nobody was there.

"Hello? I'm over here!"

"Is anybody there?"

"Ugh, you can't see me! Stupid sisters...anyway! See the rock in front of you?"

Amu nodded.

"Find the vial behind it and drink the juice."

Taking a breath, she reminded herself that it was just a dream, so she drank the strangely sweet pink liquid. Suddenly, she was shrinking! Her arms became the size of tooth picks, then her head shrank, and the rest of her body followed. She was the size of the flowers!

"Now, turn around and come over here!"

She obliged and saw the leaf of a yellow daisy waving at her. Though alarmed, she walked over to the flower.

"Hello," she said slowly, staring into the bright blue eyes of the daisy. "You, uh, have very pretty petals."

The daisy blushed and looked at her curved yellow petals. "Thank you very much. I've been working hard to maintain them."

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Amu asked.

"What's your name?"

"Amu."

"What's an Amu?"

"A girl, of course!" she yelled.

The rose next to the daisy stirred. "I'm the most beautiful!" it shrieked.

"Shh, shh," the daisy soothed. The rose went back to sleep.

The daisy turned back to Amu, as if analyzing the 'girl.' Then, she gasped. "You've not found yourself yet! Go, go! Get out of here!"

"But - "

"Go!"

The other flowers began waking up and yelling as well, the rose screaming at the tops of its lungs.

"Watch out for the dandelion!" a budding tulip warned.

Amu swallowed and ran as fast as she could. When she finally slowed down, she saw the rabbit-boy hopping along the path in front of her.

"Excuse me - "

"Ah, Amu-chan!" he said. "Here you are. I forgot to give you your invitation."

He handed her a letter that was addressed to her. The return address was "the Queen."

"You'd better not be late, or she'll be mighty angry!" he said.

"But where do I go?" she asked.

"Now, now! Too many questions!" The rabbit-boy gently turned her around, and when she faced where she came from, the scenery was entirely different. She wasn't in front of a garden; she was in front of a forest.

_This dream is entirely too strange_, Amu thought, but proceeded forward.

* * *

Yay, Wonderland! So this is going to be a fun, three part break from the depressing story! Hoorah! I'll try to get a picture of the gang as their Wonderland counterparts soon! I proofread this five times and ran spell check, so hopefully there aren't any errors!

The Wonder-Chara characters featured in this chapter were:  
_Alice: _Hinamori Amu  
_Dinah: _Yoru  
_The White Rabbit__: _Hotori Tadase  
_The Daisy__: _Lulu Yamamoto de Morcef  
_The Rose__: _Yamabuki Saaya

Who will be next? LOL!

Also, here's the link to see the 'dandelion': http(:)(/)(/)www(.)softwarenewsdaily(.)com(/)wp-content(/)comment-image(/)3333(.)jpg  
Just remove the parentheses. I DON'T OWN THE IMAGE!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~Ki

**Next Episode: Extra: Amu in Wonderland! *Part Two***


	18. Extra: Amu in Wonderland! Part Two

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen - Extra: Amu in Wonderland! *Part Two***

Amu tore open the envelope and read the letter aloud to herself:

"Dear Hinamori Amu, you have been graciously invited to tea with the Queen at Heart Palace. Do not be late. Signed, the Queen."

Why did the Queen want to have tea with her? What was so important? And why wasn't anybody telling her how to get to the palace? !

She sighed, chose a direction, and began walking. This dream was beginning to become very frustrating.

Soon enough, she found herself entirely and completely lost. She was far too small and everything else was far too big.

"Who are you?"

She screamed and turned around to see a blue caterpillar with face and indifferent blue eyes staring at her. He inhaled through a pipe and then blew bubbles shaped like letters at her. She waved a hand in front of her face and popped the bubbles.

"I'm Hinamori Amu," she said firmly.

"Are you sure?" He blew more letter shaped bubbles at her.

"Of course I'm sure!" she exclaimed.

The caterpillar "hmph"ed and blew bubbles.

Amu sighed. "Could you tell me where Heart Palace is?"

He looked at her sardonically. "Now why would I do that after you just snapped at me?"

"Please?"

He rolled his eyes. "Alright. It's that way." He pointed with one of his arms.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking into the dark forest.

"Hmm...perhaps it's that way?" He pointed in the opposite direction.

"You don't know where it is!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I am far too small to see where I am, and I only need to be here, on my mushroom," he replied. "If you want to find the Palace, eat one of those cakes."

Amu turned and saw a pile of multicolored cakes materialize out of thin air. She didn't even bother with being surprised, and ate one.

"Now don't eat too much!" the caterpillar warned, but it was too late. She'd already consumed the whole cake.

She began growing up and up and up, shooting towards the sky as her body got bigger. When she finally stopped growing, she was as tall as the trees. She couldn't see any palace, but she could see a smokestack in the distance.

"Thank you!" she called, then made her way through the trees.

The source of the smokestack was a cottage that was the size of her shoe.

"Hello?" she said.

"Not so loudly!" A petite girl with flowing golden hair and golden eyes stepped out of the cottage and looked up at her. "Now how did you get to be so large?"

"Um...the caterpillar."

"...I won't ask. I am the Duchess, and you are...?"

She sighed, sick of the question. "Hinamori Amu."

"Fantastic. Now, would you paint a picture of me?" the Duchess asked, batting her large eyes. She couldn't help but say yes.

Painting materials appeared in front of her, and Amu lifted the Duchess to sit on the top of the canvas and had her pose. She picked up the paintbrush and paused, wondering how in the world she was going to paint a picture of the Duchess. The Duchess was so fantastically pretty that Amu would surely mess it up.

Nonetheless, Amu dipped the brush in the paint and applied it to the paper. Slowly, she became more confident and cool. She envisioned how she wanted the painting to look. She realized that she shouldn't run from things she was bad at. At least give it a try! It may not be perfect, but -

"It's pretty good," the Duchess said, looking at the finished painting.

Amu glowed with pride. She looked down at her dress, having felt the familiar warm feeling, and saw blue spades had joined the red hearts on her waistband.

"You're on your way," the Duchess told her.

"What do you - nevermind," Amu said. She'd learned not to ask. "How do I get to Heart Palace?"

"Drink half of that and then find the March Hare. She should be along that path there," the Duchess said, pointing to a bottle with one arm and an opening in the trees with the other arm.

When Amu drank half of the purple juice, the canvas and paint supplies strangely shrank with her. She was her regular size again!

The Duchess picked up the painting and admired it. "Thank you. I shall treasure this."

Amu blushed. "No need."

They met eyes and smiled at each other. "Now, go find the March Hare!"

"Alright. Thank you!" she called, running with a smile on her face.

SCSCSC

Her happiness disappeared when she came to a crossroads. Both paths looked the same, and there was nothing that indicated which one led to the March Hare, whoever that was.

"Eenie, meenie, minie - "

"Mo!"

Amu screamed and looked up into the branches of the tree in front of her and saw a boy with blue hair and cat ears. He even had a tail!

"Wh-Wh-Who are you? !" she stuttered.

The boy leaped gracefully from the tree and landed on his feet. "The Cheshire Cat, of course. You can call me Chesh."

"Okay, Chesh," she said slowly.

"And you..." He leaned forward and sniffed her, to her dismay. "You must be Hinamori Amu."

She swallowed. "Yes, I am."

He smirked. "You're late for tea."

"Well, I don't know which way to go!" she said.

"Hmm..." Chesh paused, thinking for a moment. His ears twitched, and then his tail pointed to the path on the right. "That way."

"Are you sure?" she persisted.

"Or..." His tail jerked upwards and pointed at the sky. "Maybe that way."

"Thanks for nothing," she grumbled. "I think that you actually do know how to get to the Heart Palace and you're just not telling me."

"Nope," he replied. "I really don't know where it is. I just go wherever my tail blows."

"You're mad!" she exclaimed.

He shrugged. "We're all mad here." Then he began disappearing until only his head and the stripes on his shirt remained.

"Wait! Don't - " He was gone. "...go."

She sighed and stared at the crossroads. Chesh had said to go to the right or up. So, in an act of defiance, she went left.

It wasn't very long until the path dead ended and she had a terrible feeling inside. Anger and bruised pride mixed with embarrassment. She turned around to go back, but the path had disappeared!

Amu let out a frustrated groan and walked angrily in whatever direction she was facing. She calmed down enough to hear two people arguing. Her spirits lifted and she went towards the sound.

"You always - "

" - leave your smelly socks everywhere!"

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Excuse me," Amu interrupted.

A boy and a girl turned to face her. She stared. They had to be twins. Both of them had very long dark purple hair and ochre eyes. The boy wore high waisted black shorts (for the girl, it was a skirt) with suspenders. They both wore red button up long sleeve shirts, blue bow ties, and black hats.

"Hello," the girl said sweetly. "I'm Tweedledee."

"No," the boy interjected. "_I'm_ Tweedledee. She's Tweedledum."

"He's lying. 'Dee' is much more feminine than 'dum'."

"You're dumb," the boy told his sister.

"Oh, please - "

"Excuse me!" Amu said loudly.

"_What? !_" they yelled.

"Where do I go to find the March Hare?" she asked.

"That way," they replied, pointing in opposite directions.

"You idiot! It's that way!"

"No, we visited yesterday! It's - "

" - that way!"

"No!"

"I'll find my own way, thanks," Amu muttered, and walked away from the arguing Tweedle twins. She began to think about what Chesh said, and it turns out that he was right. Everyone here was indeed mad!

* * *

Oh no, Amu's lost...again! LOL!

The Wonder-Chara characters featured in this chapter were:  
_Alice_: Hinamori Amu  
_The Bubble Blowing Caterpillar: _Ichinomiya Hikaru  
_The Duchess: _Mashiro Rima  
_The Cheshire Cat: _Tsukiyomi Ikuto  
_Tweedledee and Tweedledum: _Fujisaki Nadeshiko and Nagihiko

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Extra: Amu in Wonderland! *Part Three***


	19. Extra: Amu in Wonderland! Part Three

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen - Extra: Amu in Wonderland! *Part Three***

With a stroke of luck, Amu managed to find the March Hare. Or, at least, she hoped.

She'd arrived at a very long table where two people appeared to be having a very crazy tea party.

"Hello?" she asked. "I'm looking for the March Hare."

"Here I am!"

Amu looked at a girl with auburn hair in pigtails, brown eyes, and brown rabbit ears. She wore a pink shirt with a red overcoat and purple skirt. Around her neck was a purple bow tie.

"What do you want from ol' March?"

She turned and looked at a boy with bright orange hair and green eyes that wore an extremely large green hat. He sported blue and green checkered pants, a sky blue shirt, and a dark blue jacket. A red K was embroidered on the lapel of his jacket. He, too, wore a bow tie, but his was red.

"I'm the Mad Hatter," he said, extending a hand.

She took his hand and shook it. "Amu. Well, I'm supposed to have tea with the Queen at Heart Palace, but I'm late, and I don't know where to go."

"Heart Palace?"

A small girl with brown eyes, mouse ears, and salmon-pink hair crawled out from inside a tea pot. She wore a brown jacket, an orange shirt, a brown skirt, and a yellow bow tie.

"Why does everyone here wear bowties?" Amu asked.

"I think they're dashing," Hatter replied, grinning at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Who wants to have tea with the snooty old queen?" the Dormouse asked, folding her arms.

"Watch it, Dor," he said warningly.

"Sorry, Hatter," the mouse mumbled.

"I'd tell you where to go, but it's tea time again!" March exclaimed.

Hatter jumped out of his armchair and dragged Amu to sit down in a chair. The Dormouse suddenly grew to their size and plopped down in a chair. Tea filled the cups in front of them.

"Cakes!" the Dormouse called. Only the ingredients for making cakes appeared on the table.

The March Hare turned to Amu and pointed at the ingredients. "Make the cakes."

"What? But I've never - "

"You have to," Hatter said. "We can't because it's our unbirthday."

"W-Well, it's my unbirthday too!" she protested.

"But you're the newbie."

"If you don't, I won't tell you where to go," March said.

Amu thought this over, and decided that she'd rather make cakes that be lost again. The March Hare never said that the cakes had to taste good.

So she followed the directions and slowly began to get the hang of it. The now familiar warmth filled her body again. She blushed at how girly she felt, but continued her baking. She actually felt confident in herself!

When she was done, a pile of tasty cakes sat on the table. (They were baked in an oven that had appeared) She smiled with happiness, and noticed that green clubs (or clovers) now danced along her waistband with the hearts and spades.

"Yay!" March exclaimed.

Hatter, March, and the Dormouse all began eating when Amu cleared her throat.

"What?" Hatter asked, his mouth full of cake.

"I need directions!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, right," March said.

"Follow the sounds of marching," the Dormouse answered.

"What sounds of - " No sooner had she spoken than the said sound reached her ears. "Nevermind."

"Good luck!" they called after her as she began walking.

When she found the source of the marching, she was surprised to find a group of little cards marching in a big circle.

"Left! Left! Left, right left!" a card with purple hair - the King of Spades - commanded from where he was standing on a tree stump.

She knelt down. "Excuse me," she asked the Ace of Hearts, "Why are you marching?"

The blue haired Ace of Spades rolled her eyes. "We're marching so we can grow bigger."

"How do you figure that?" Amu asked.

The Six of Diamonds giggled.

"The caterpillar said so," the soft-voiced Four of Diamonds said.

"That explains it," she muttered.

"What do you mean~desu?" the Ace of Clubs asked.

"Oh, nothing!" she covered. "Um, why isn't the King marching?"

The Ten of Clubs spoke up, "He used to be a real king, the ruler of Spade country, but he was pompous, so the Queen of Hearts turned him into a card." He rolled his eyes.

"He doesn't need to march," the Eight of Spades said. "His head is big enough!"

The Two and Three of Hearts giggled.

Amu met the yellow eyes of the Ace of Diamonds. "Do you have a question?"

"I need to find my way to Heart Palace," she replied.

"It's right over there!" the Five of Clubs said, pointing to a massive glittering castle that was adorned with red hearts.

"Oh," she said.

"Don't worry," the Nine of Hearts said warmly. "It was hidden by clouds a few moments ago."

"Why do you need to go to Heart Palace?" the Three of Spades asked.

"I was supposed to have tea with the Queen at noon," Amu replied.

"You are three hours late," the Seven of Diamonds told her.

"What? !" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "I've got to go!"

"Good luck to ya!" the Six of Clubs called after her.

"Excuse me," she asked a boy with green hair. "Where is the Queen?"

"Go down the hall to your right - "

"No, it's this way."

Amu smiled when she saw the Duchess.

The boy blushed with embarrassment. and stared at his feet. "I'm sorry. I have a terrible sense of direction."

"Amu, shall we go? You're terribly late." The Duchess took her arm and they walked down the hall to their left. "Did March and her friends give you much trouble?"

"Um, not really," she lied.

"That's good," the Duchess replied genially.

They went out a pair of double doors and Amu found herself looking at a croquet game. There were all sorts of people wearing fancy, heart covered clothing. One lady with her blonde hair up in pigtails particularly caught Amu's eye, and then she noticed the crown on her head.

The lady straightened up and turned around, fixing Amu with her purple gaze. "You are late. Follow me."

"Good luck," the Duchess whispered before Amu followed the Queen back into the castle.

They arrived in a large room that Amu figured to be the throne room. The Queen sat down on one of the high-back, red velvet thrones and stared at Amu.

"You are Hinamori Amu, correct?" she asked.

She swallowed. "Yes, ma'am."

"Who are you?"

The dreaded question. "I-I'm Hi - "

"That is your name, not who you are," the Queen interrupted. "Or are you saying that your name is all you are? _That _is what defines your being?"

"No!" she protested.

"Then _who are you?_"

Amu stared, her mind whirling as she thought about the answer to that question.

"Well?" the Queen asked impatiently.

Amu smiled, the realization hitting her and giving her a warm feeling. "I am a fifteen year old girl. I am shy and hide behind a cool and spicy character. I can be athletic and outgoing, artistic and insightful, or even girly and strong! The truth is, I don't really know who I am, but I know that I am me."

The Queen smiled and nodded, obviously pleased. Amu noticed that yellow diamonds had been added to her waistband.

"Knave!" the Queen called.

The green haired boy from earlier appeared carrying a pillow with a lock on it. The Queen stood and picked up the lock by its chain. She walked toward Amu and stood behind her, clasping the chain around the girl's neck.

"Hinamori Amu, the girl who is herself, I declare you the Princess of Wonderland!"

The throne room erupted into cheering and Amu turned around to see all her new friends that she'd made. Her eyes filled with tears and -

"Hinamori-san?"

Amu opened her eyes and looked at a man with kind purple eyes smiling down at her. She looked around and saw that she'd fallen asleep next to the tree with a rabbit hole!

"Your parents are looking for you over there," he replied, pointing to where she was before she'd followed the white rabbit-boy.

"Oh, um, thank you!" she said, feeling incredibly disappointed that she'd woken up from such a terrific dream. The man walked away and she stood up, stretching her arms. She rubbed her neck, and to her surprise, she felt a necklace chain.

With her heart racing, she grabbed the charm of the necklace and the lock glittered in her hand.

Amu closed her hand over the lock and smiled a shiny new smile for her shiny new self.

* * *

Ah, happiness. I really liked developing this threeshot. It was a nice break, don't you think? Now to return to the drama and angst!

The Wonder-Chara characters featured in this chapter were:  
_Alice_: Hinamori Amu  
_The March Hare:_Yuiki Yaya  
_The Mad Hatter:_Souma Kukai  
_The Dormouse: _Hiiragi Rikka  
_King of Spades:_Kiseki  
_Ace of Hearts:_ Ran  
_Ace of Spades:_Miki  
_Six of Diamonds:_Kusukusu  
_Four of Diamonds: _Temari  
_Ace of Clubs:_Su  
_Ten of Clubs: _Daichi  
_Eight of Spades:_ Rhythm  
_Two of Hearts:_Eru  
_Three of Hearts:_Iru  
_Ace of Diamonds:_Dia  
_Five of Clubs:_ Pepe  
_Nine of Hearts:_Hotaru  
_Seven of Diamonds:_Musashi  
_Six of Clubs:_ Nana  
_Knave of Hearts: _Sanjo Kairi_  
The Duchess: _Mashiro Rima  
_Queen of Hearts: _Hoshina Utau  
_Man: _Amakawa Tsukasa

Here's a little bonus scene that I wanted to but couldn't fit in:

_"Where's the King?" Amu asked, looking around the throne room.  
__The Queen went to the window and put a hand on the glass, looking out with a far off gaze.  
__"He's off making hats," she replied with a smile._

Cute little bit there. If you didn't understand the implication there, The Mad Hatter is also the King of Hearts (hence the red K on his lapel).

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~K

**Next Episode: Stand Strong Through the Storm!**


	20. Stand Strong Through the Storm!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Twenty - Stand Strong Through the Storm!**

"Character Transformation: Broken Star!"

In her transformation, Kiyomi wore a beautiful gray dress that was ripped and torn in all sorts of places, and a sleeve was missing. Everything about her turned gray except for her eyes, which remained a bright yellow.

She sneered at them. "If you want to save everyone's dreams and your precious Hoshina Utau, you'll have to go through me."

"Everyone!" Amu called. "Take care of the Broken-Eggs!" Her eyes narrowed. "Makoto-senpai is mine."

"How brave, Hinamori-kohai," Kiyomi taunted. "Are you sure you can defeat me by yourself?"

"Absolutely."

Kiyomi began to laugh, but stopped short when Utau collapsed on the stage. She cursed.

"Get up!" she shouted. "Get up, damn you!"

"Leave her alone!" Kukai yelled, and began to charge her.

She snapped her fingers and one of the Broken-Eggs blasted a wave of dark matter at Kukai, hitting him full on. He fell to the ground and moaned in agony.

"That's not fair!" Yaya exclaimed.

"All's fair in love and war," Kiyomi replied with a smirk, then glared down at Utau's body. "Well, I suppose she's not up to it today. See ya."

"Wait!" Amu yelled.

"Shattered Glass!"

A cloud of shards of dark matter appeared and flew toward the Guardians and their companions. When the attack ended, Utau and Kiyomi were gone, leaving behind an army of Broken-Eggs to cleanse.

SCSCSC

"I don't know why we're still talking about this," Kukai snapped.

"We need to have a plan," Tadase replied.

"Tadase's right," Amu said gently.

"Just because you're in love with him - " Kukai stopped when Yaya sent him a warning glare. He became embarrassed and stared down at his lap. Since when was she more mature than he was?

They'd held another emergency meeting before school started. Everyone was in attendance except for Shoji. It had taken almost three hours to cleanse all the Broken-Eggs. They'd saved all of them, but it was close.

"We can't afford to outwardly antagonize Makoto-senpai at school," Tadase continued. "The teachers and students are all more apt to listen to her side of the story than ours."

"If that's all, I'd like to go to school," Kukai said, then rose from his chair and left.

They watched him go with shock evident on their faces.

"Please don't be mad at him," Yaya said quietly. "Something's bothering him, and he's just not ready to tell us yet."

She looked around at the group and saw that they were nodding in agreement. She blushed when she met Kairi's eyes and saw him smiling at her.

"That's all. You're dismissed," Tadase said.

SCSCSC

The day had gone by rather quietly, which had put Amu's nerves on edge. During class she'd been eyeing the windows and doors in case Kiyomi would appear. In the hall she walked as quickly as possible with her head down, not meeting anybody's eyes.

Now it was the last class of the day. If she could just get out of the school as quickly as possible, then she would be home free for the rest of the day. Only to return again tomorrow. Maybe she could call in sick -

"Class dismissed!"

Amu sat up and looked around, feeling surprised. Tadase was by her desk a second later and she smiled up at him. Together they left the classroom. Once out in the hall, Amu caught sight of Kiyomi pushing through the crowded halls.

"Um, I have something to do," Amu said to Tadase. "I'll be a little late to the meeting."

He looked worried, but let her go.

Amu quickly tailed after Kiyomi. Her mind was racing, and she was surprised at herself for feeling so daring. But she knew that she had to do something, or Kiyomi would continue breaking others' eggs.

"I know you're following me!" Kiyomi said loudly, startling the pinkette.

Amu blushed; apparently she was lacking skills in the ninja field. She looked around and noticed that they'd arrived at the back of the school by the dumpsters.

"Makoto-senpai - "

"You can't stop me!" Kiyomi interrupted. "I'll keep breaking their dreams."

She swallowd and pressed on. "Can't you see that you're hurting them? The pain of losing your dream..."

"Oh, shut up!" the president snapped. "You don't know anything."

"I know that what you're doing is wrong," she persisted. "Your dream is to break other people's dreams...isn't that twisted?"

Amu caught a glimpse of Kiyomi's shugo chara - Kara - peeking out from the president's bag. As if reading Amu's thoughts, Dia spoke.

"Hello," the yellow chara said sweetly. "My name is Dia."

"Don't speak," Kiyomi hissed. Kara nodded slightly.

"Doesn't it make you sad?" Dia persisted. "You're breaking other shugo chara."

"She knows how I feel!" Kiyomi yelled. "She's the only one that understands me!"

"If you told people, they'd understand," Amu said quietly.

The president began to laugh wickedly, and Amu was chilled to the bones. "Your naïveté amuses me."

"Please stop doing this!" Su pleaded.

"It's mean," Miki mumbled.

"Doesn't it hurt?" Ran asked.

Kiyomi barked out a short laugh. "Your shugo chara are as naïve as you are, Hinamori-kohai."

"They're the only ones that understand me," Amu said, mimicking the president's earlier statement.

"I'm just warning you," Kiyomi replied nonchalantly, putting a hand up. She turned and began to leave.

"Don't walk away from me!" she shouted.

Kiyomi stopped and glared fiercely at her. "I don't believe that you understand the situation you're in."

"What situation?"

"You do realize that if you keep confronting me, I could have you expelled under harrassment charges, right?" she sneered. "And you already attacked me once..."

Amu swallowed as it dawned on her how much power Kiyomi held over her.

"If you and your little Guardian friends continue to interfere with my plans, then you'll be making it all the worse for Hoshina Utau," Kiyomi said, and began to leave again.

"Why Utau?" Amu called desperately. "What has she done?"

Kiyomi paused. "She was weak."

Then she disappeared from sight.

SCSCSC

Amu sat on a bench outside of where the old amusement park used to be. Now it was just a landscape of dirt. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of her confrontation with Kiyomi just moments earlier. She'd skipped the Guardian meeting. She just couldn't face Tadase and his worried eyes at that moment. She just needed to think things over.

"Amu?"

She looked up at the sound of her name and met a familiar pair of dark blue eyes. She felt the tears rise.

"What's wrong?" Ikuto asked, frowning. He sat next to her.

"I-It's Makoto-senpai. Sh-she's never g-going to stop."

"I see," he said, eyes darkening.

"She said that sh-she chose Utau b-b-because she was w-weak."

He was silent.

"I'm w-weak too."

"No, you're not," he said.

"Y-Yes I am! I c-can't stop her!" she exclaimed, the first tear running down her cheek.

He put a hand on her cheek and wiped the tear with his other hand. His eyes bored into hers. "You're not weak. You don't have to fight her alone. We're all here for you."

"Why aren't you teasing me?" she asked.

"Because you're crying," he replied. "You don't need to be teased right now."

Ikuto put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze. She leaned her head against him and sniffled. He wiped her tears until there were no more.

"Come on. Let's get some ice cream," he said, pulling her up from the bench.

They went to the park and he bought them chocolate ice creams. They sat together quietly, both wrapped in their own thoughts.

"How's your mom?" she asked.

"She's alright," he said. "She cleans the house a lot, which is her way of dealing with things. It gives her something to do."

Amu sighed. "I don't understand why Kiyomi's doing this."

"You'll figure it out," he said.

"Why do you think that?" she asked, her eyebrows pushing together.

"You have a way of talking to people, of making them understand," he replied. "Sometimes, certain people are just misunderstood."

"What if Makoto-senpai is one of those people?" Amu asked. "Would you forgive her?"

His eyes darkened and, for a moment, she felt scared. "It would take a whole hell of a lot of time before I forgave her for attacking my sister."

Her thoughts briefly flashed to the attack on Ami and she nodded. "Yes. Yes, it would."

Ikuto got up from the bench. "I'll walk you home."

They switched to a different subject and discussed the sights he'd seen while he'd been travelling. He'd gotten a lead on his father when he got a call from his mother about Utau. Someone had recently seen Aruto buying a ticket at the train station. Now all Ikuto had to do was find out where Aruto was headed.

"That's great!" Amu said.

Ikuto smiled. "Yeah. I don't want Mom to be alone anymore. The sooner I find him, the better."

"I'm really happy for you," she told him, smiling back.

They stood outside the door to her house. He ran a hand through his hair.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing. You're just..." he trailed off and looked confused.

"Just what?" Amu tilted her head to the side.

Suddenly he was hugging her. She had no choice but to hug him back. She felt so small; she only came up to his shoulder. Her face was pressed against his chest. His left arm wrapped around her waist and his right hand held the back of her head, securing her as closely as possible to him.

"I said it before, didn't I? Grow up already," he murmured. His breath was hot on her ear.

Her face flamed up and her fingers dug into his shirt. "What does that - "

"Amu!"

Her mother had burst open the door and was standing in front of them with an angry expression on her face.

"And _what,_ may I ask, is going on here?" she asked, an eyebrow raised dangerously high.

"M-Mama!" Amu exclaimed, jumping away from Ikuto. "I-I - "

"I found Amu sitting by herself after school," Ikuto said smoothly. "We got ice cream and I walked her home."

"Thank you, Ikuto-kun, but that will be all," Mrs. Hinamori said.

"Yes. Thank you." He inclined his head respectfully, and then turned and left.

Amu looked nervously at her mother, who simply pointed inside. She grudgingly walked inside.

"Amu-chan, I do not want you spending so much time with him."

"But Mama, he's my friend!"

"You looked closer than friends just now."

"That was just - "

"He's eighteen, Amu-chan! It was alright before when you had a crush on him - "

"I did not!"

" - but you need to _just_ be friends, or nothing at all. I'm looking out for you."

"But - "

"That's final!"

Ikuto heard Amu stomp upstairs to her room and he closed his eyes. His time with her was over, the fantasy gone. It was time to face the real world. He wasn't a kid anymore.

He put his hands in his pockets and walked away.

* * *

OH NO! _What does this mean? ! _Well, I know. You don't. LOL!

I'm in the middle of making that new trailer that I was talking about earlier. I can't find any RAW episodes, so I'm just using pictures like always. I like it, but it'd be cooler if there were video clips. OH WELL! More news on that to come! I'll try to get a picture of Kiyomi's transformation out, also.

Here are the results _so far _of the poll that I posted:  
**Which Shugo Chara pairings do you like best? Only five!**  
_Rimahiko_ - 15 (18%)  
_Amuto_ - 14 (17%)  
_Kutau_ - 12 (14%)  
___Kaiya_ - 8 (9%)  
Amuhiko - 7 (8%)  
_Miru_ - 7 (8%)  
_Tadamu_ - 4 (4%)  
_Raichi_ - 4 (4%)  
_Rikkaru_ - 3 (3%)  
_Kukamu_ - 2 (2%)  
___Yuukari_ - 2 (2%)  
Kaimu - 1 (1%)  
_Ikutau_ - 1 (1%)  
_Kukaya_ - 1 (1%)  
_Miseki_ - 1 (1%)  
_Tadaya_ - 0 (0%)  
_Ikulu_ - 0 (0%)  
_Michi_ - 0 (0%)

You can still vote if you want to! The poll's on my profile. Now, remember, **this poll ****doesn't affect the result of this story!** This is simply me wanting to see how people think. ^_^

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Kiyomi and Rima's Knights in Shining Armor!**


	21. Kiyomi and Rima's Knights!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One - Kiyomi and Rima's Knights in Shining Armor!**

"Makoto-kun is waiting outside the Garden," Tadase said, looking at each of the Guardians before continuing. "I don't want there to be any hostile attitudes toward him. He is innocent until proven guilty, remember? We just want to ask him if he knows about his sister's...ah, recent activities. If he does, then we want to know if he's working with her. Does everyone understand?"

Everybody nodded. Tadase fixed his eyes on his biggest worry.

"Do you understand, Souma-kun?" he asked emphatically.

"_Yes_," Kukai growled. He stared moodily at the table top.

Tadase nodded slowly, disbelieving. He turned to Rikka. "Hiiragi-san, please let him in."

Rikka nodded dutifully and came back moments later with Shoji, who was looking very downcast.

"Makoto-kun, do you know what your sister has been doing to people's Heart's Eggs?" Tadase asked.

"Yes," Shoji answered.

"Have you been helping her?"

"I'm supposed to. When Hinamori-senpai's sister was attacked, I made sure all of you were busy with the Broken-Egg. I'm supposed to give her information on your plans. I don't want to help her, but...she's my sister," he said helplessly.

He swallowed and he looked like he wanted to cry. "Please help her. She thinks that dreams never come true, and the pain of that is unbearable. So, to prevent that, she's breaking their dreams before they realize them, so they don't have to experience that pain."

"But what about _her_ shugo chara?" Amu asked.

"Kara knows that once Kiyomi's dream is accomplished, she'll have to break herself," he whispered, looking stricken.

They all wore expressions of shock and looked around, exchanging glances.

Tadase cleared his throat and spoke. "Makoto-kun, we need your help."

Shoji nodded and his shugo chara Takeo flew close. "Takeo was born from me wanting to save her. I want to be her knight."

He looked up and met their eyes, then smiled for the first time.

"I'll do anything I can," he said.

Kairi put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I know the situation you're in. I had to help my sister put X's on people's eggs once. The Guar - my friends helped me. Now, we'll help you."

Shoji beamed. "Thank you!"

The rest of the meeting went on as usual, and the atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed considering what had happened. Kukai had even let a smile out at one of Yaya's jokes.

"Amu-chan?" Tadase said, coming up to her after the meeting had sort of ended and they were all hanging out, trying to have some fun instead of discussing the depressing topic of Kiyomi and the Broken-Eggs.

"H-Hi, Tadase-kun," she said, blushing as her heart beat quickened.

"Could I talk to you?" he asked.

She silently swooned at the sight of his pleading eyes. "S-Sure!"

Together, they went deeper into the garden and sat down on one of the benches. Her heart thudded so loudly that she thought he would for sure hear it. They were alone, hidden by the bushes and flowers.

"I'm worried," he said.

"About what?"

"What if..." He swallowed and glanced at Kiseki, who was floating by his shoulder with a blank expression. "What if I get a Broken-Egg?"

Their eyes met and she saw how deep his worry was. He was truly scared of this happening. As she thought about it, she was too. The thought of losing faith in her charas gave her a sick feeling in her stomach.

"You won't," she said firmly. "You are the strongest person I know, Tadase-kun. You are a leader and you're smart...and you have friends who care about you. If there's a person on this earth who is the least likely to get a Broken-Egg, it is most definitely you."

He smiled and took her hand. "I love you, Amu-chan."

Her voice wasn't functioning correctly, so she nodded and smiled back.

"You're right," he said, looking up at the sky where the first stars were coming into view. "I won't get a Broken-Egg. I have you in my life."

"Wh-What do you mean?" she stuttered, having found her voice.

He looked at her again. "How can I lose faith in anything when you're by my side?"

Her throat went dry and she felt dizzy. She leaned against the back of the bench and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"You have this way of talking to people," he continued. "You can make them feel better, and you understand them."

"That's what Ikuto said," she whispered.

"Hm?" Tadase's eyebrows pushed together.

"Oh, nothing!" she covered, smiling brightly.

He chuckled. "I love you, Amu-chan."

"Y-You said that," she stated dumbly.

"I know," he replied.

She tentatively met his eyes and sucked in a breath when she realized how close he was. Was he leaning in? Was _she_ leaning in? They were getting closer, that she knew. She felt his breath on her cheeks and she blushed. He smelled of something warm and sweet. Instinctively, she closed her eyes -

"Rima-chi!"

They sprang apart, both their faces turning a bright red. Quickly, they turned and saw Rima racing through the gardens.

"Where are you going?" Yaya called.

"I'm late!" Rima yelled back, then disappeared through the glass door.

To their bewilderment, Nagi began running after her.

"Not you too!" Yaya exclaimed.

"Rima-chan!" Nagi shouted. He heard screaming and upped his pace. When he rounded the corner, he saw Rima's parents fighting.

"Oh, so you choose _now_ to be responsible?" Mrs. Mashiro screamed.

"Take a look at yourself!" Mr. Mashiro retorted.

"You're never around anymore!"

"And who's fault is that?"

"You _chose_ to move out!"

"You can't take my daughter away from me!"

Rima cautiously approached them. "Mama, Papa," she said feebly.

"Get in the car, Rima," her mother said stiffly.

"No," her father protested. "She's coming with me tonight."

"Let's just go home together," Rima said softly, her voice quavering.

"You can't provide a proper home for her. Rima, _get in the car!_"

"You've turned that..._home_ of yours into a hell!" he shouted.

"That was you, not me!"

"Don't try to turn me into the bad guy!"

On that last statement Rima tried stepping in between her parents. Mr. Mashiro waved his arms emphatically at the wrong time and accidentally backhanded Rima across the face. She flew backwards and landed on the ground.

"Look at what you've done!" Mrs. Mashiro screeched. "Rima, darling - "

"Don't!" Rima exclaimed. She got up from the ground and ran full speed away from her parents.

"Look at what _I've_ done?" he retorted, pointing at their retreating daughter. "That's your fault!"

"_Stop it!_"

They turned in shock and stared at Nagi, who was shaking with anger.

"Don't speak to me in - " But Mrs. Mashiro was interrupted.

"I said to stop!" he said fiercely. "You're too busy fighting with each other that you can't see what you're doing to Rima! She's been carrying the burden of your fighting this entire time! Isn't it time to put aside your issues and work together? For the sake of your _daughter?_"

He shook his head in disgust and ran in the direction Rima went.

The Mashiros glanced at each other and then noticed their audience: the entire rest of the Guardians, and Tsukasa.

Tsukasa smiled grimly. "Shall we head into my office to discuss some things? I don't think you have to worry about your daughter for now. Fujisaki-kun will find her."

They nodded grudgingly and followed Tsukasa into the school.

"Rima-chan? Rima-chan? It's Nagihiko!" he called. There was no response, only the creaking of the trees around him.

He sighed and leaned against one of the trees.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know. I wish I could've helped you. I wish you would've told me."

He smiled and chuckled to himself. "I yelled at your parents. I can't believe it, but I did. Then Tsukasa-san appeared and he took them to his office. I don't think you'll have much trouble now."

Nagi pushed his hair out of his face. "I'm talking to myself. Great." He stopped leaning on the tree and began to search for her again.

From the other side of the tree he'd been leaning on, a small sniffle came from Rima, who heard it all.

"Everything we've worked for...," she whispered to herself. "It's all falling apart."

* * *

Yay for Shoji being good! Boo for Rima's parents being bad! Yay for Nagi being her knight! LOL!

Here are the top 5 (so far) in the poll:  
1. _Rimahiko_ - 21 (18%)  
2. _Amuto_ - 20 (17%)  
3. _Kutau_ - 17 (15%)  
4. _Kaiya_ - 12 (10%)  
5. _Miru_ - 10 (8%)  
You can still vote! I'm going to **take the poll off my profile and post the final results when I post chapter 24**, so for those of you who haven't voted...vote! It's fun! Remember, **this poll doesn't affect the outcome of this story**, I simply like knowing how people think. Thanks!

Well, I am on a writing frenzy (_Thank you vacation!_) and I'm already writing chapter 24! So chapters should be coming out faster these weeks. Look forward to it!

Happy New Year!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~K

**Next Episode: Find Your Rhythm, Nagi!**


	22. Find Your Rhythm, Nagi!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two - Find Your Rhythm, Nagi!**

Nagi launched yet another basket ball and yet again he missed. He groaned and sat down on the court, putting his head on his knees. Why couldn't he do this anymore?

It had been a week since Rima's parents had their fight. A week since he'd seen her. Nobody'd had any contact from her. It was as if she disappeared off the face of the earth.

"Nagi?" Temari asked, resting on his shoulder.

"Be quiet," he said.

"Are you okay?" she persisted.

"I said, be quiet!" he yelled.

Temari looked shocked and immediately retreated. Rhythm glared at him.

"We're both worried about you!" Rhythm exclaimed.

"I know." He sighed with frustration. "I'm sorry, Temari. I really didn't mean it."

"Aw, what's the matter?"

They whirled around to see Kiyomi in her transformation standing before them. She wore a nasty smirk on her face.

"Did the poor baby lose his girlfriend?" she asked, making a pouty expression. "Maybe she found out about your crossdressing habits. That's kind of a turn off, you know."

Nagi stood up, his fists clenched at his sides. "She already knew...and she's not my girlfriend!"

"Oh, then it must be her parents," she said, nodding slowly. "They've been going at it for quite a while now."

"As if you knew," he snapped. "You found out recently."

"So did you," she replied. She tapped her fingers on her chin. "How surprising that she didn't tell you...didn't tell any of you."

"It's none of your business," he growled. "Rhythm! Character Transformation: Beat Jumper!"

"Are you going to fight me?" Kiyomi asked, her voice piqued with interest.

"You need to stop what you're doing," he told her.

"Make me."

"Blaze Shot!" cried Nagi, throwing a blue energy ball at her.

Kiyomi dodged it easily. "Shattered Glass!"

The explosion of dark matter came at him so quickly that when he tried to dodge, it still hit his left arm. The arm turned gray and he couldn't move it. He glared at Kiyomi and she laughed.

"I'm sorry, should I go easy on you?" she asked sarcastically.

"Beat Dunk!" he shouted, running up to her. He jumped up and prepared to shoot the energy ball down at her.

She simply smiled up at him and raised one of her hands. "Cracked Darkness!"

His eyes widened. From her hand a wave of dark matter flew toward him. He was in the air and there was no way he could dodge. As a last resort, he threw the energy ball as hard as possible down at the matter. The energy ball flew right through the it, hitting Kiyomi square in the face. The dark matter wrapped around him and he fell to the ground.

It was as if he were wrapped in some sort of cocoon of black rubber that stretched but never ripped. He vaguely heard Kiyomi yelling at him for hitting her, but he was becoming dizzy from the lack of oxygen.

Suddenly, he heard a scream that surely came from Kiyomi. It was a chilling scream of pure fury. Something wrapped around him and began squeezing him tightly. His head felt like it was going to explode when the dark matter around him disappeared. The ropes that had been wrapped around him released him and flew back to where they came from.

Rima caught them in her hand. "Tightrope Dancer," she said placidly.

His eyes widened and he almost went to hug her when Kiyomi yelled again and the ropes around her broke.

Kiyomi rose, her body shaking with anger. "How dare you!"

"I'm sorry," Nagi said sarcastically. "Should we go easy on you?"

He looked at Rima and she nodded.

Kiyomi let out a yell and stuck her hand out at her side. "Black Shard!"

A black-bladed katana appeared in her hand and she ran forward to attack the pair.

"Juggling Party!"

Rima threw the juggling clubs at Kiyomi, who sliced them to pieces with her sword.

"Blaze Shot!"

While Kiyomi was dealing with Rima's attack, Nagi sneaked around and attacked her from behind. The energy ball hit Kiyomi right in the back. She staggered and turned around to attack him.

"Tightrope Dancer!"

Rima's ropes flew out at Kiyomi and wrapped around her ankles, then pulled back, causing the president to fall on her front.

"This isn't over! You'll pay!" Kiyomi shouted viciously. "Shattered Glass!"

They ducked down to the ground to avoid the attack, and when they stood up, she was gone. They got out of their transformations and Nagi ran to Rima, hugging her tightly.

"Nagi!" she exclaimed with surprise.

He released her, but still gripped her shoulders. "Where have you been?" he asked urgently.

"Tsukasa-san arranged a vacation at the beach for my parents and I," she said, smiling. "We had a lot of fun."

He smiled, relieved. "Listen, Rima, I'm so sorry - "

"I know," she interrupted. At his confused look, she added, "I heard you at the school."

He hugged her again, and she hugged him back.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go tell the others."

He took her hand and together they went.

* * *

Aww! Rimahiko sweetness! Well...not much to talk about, I guess. I highly appreciate your guys' reviews!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Faceoff with the President!**


	23. Faceoff with the President!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three - Faceoff with the President!**

"Tsukasa-san even arranged for them to work less hours so they're not as stressed," Rima told her friends as they walked to school the next day.

They all smiled. Her happiness had improved drastically since the last time they'd seen her. She was more at ease, more comfortable, and she smiled a lot more often.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she said quietly. "I...I was embarrassed."

"That's all right," Amu said, smiling.

"Now all we need to do is worry about Makoto-senpai," Nagi pointed out. He and Rima exchanged smiles.

"Remember, no attacking her at school," Tadase reminded them. "We need to wait until she makes her move."

"Right!" they said.

"Amu-chan?" Dia asked tentatively.

"Yes?"

"School starts in two minutes," the chara replied.

"_WHAT?_"

Without another word, they took off running.

SCSCSC

Amu's heart was thumping loudly as she tried swallowing down her fears. It was after school and she was alone. Her friends had all either gone ahead to the Garden or gotten held back. She kept her eyes peeled for any sign of Kiyomi.

"Hinamori-kohai."

She froze. _Speak of the devil_, she thought.

"Yes, Makoto-senpai?" she asked congenially, turning around to face the president.

"I'm very happy to see that Mashiro-kohai is back in school this week. I was worried about her," Kiyomi said sweetly.

"Yes. I'm sure you're _very_ worried about her after she and Nagi beat you yesterday," she snapped.

"It was two against one," growled Kiyomi.

"All's fair in love and war, remember?" Amu taunted.

"How brave for a girl who can't even stand up to me," she retorted. "You still call me 'Makoto-senpai.' A sign of respect. How funny."

Amu glowered at her.

"I don't even think you can beat me," Kiyomi said thoughtfully. She tapped her chin. "The one time you tried...well, you remember that, don't you?"

Amu thought back to the time during PE when Kiyomi lied and said that Amu attacked her when it was really the other way around. Nobody was willing to listen to Amu's story, not when Kiyomi was busy screaming from the 'pain.'

"You can't do anything without your shugo chara!" Amu said.

"Yes I can. People lose faith in themselves and their dreams all on their own. I just push them over the edge a little to get them beyond an X-Egg. I'm a very taunting person. Have you noticed?" Kiyomi asked.

"Not at all," Amu replied sarcastically.

"I can see you doubting yourself right now," Kiyomi told her conspiratorially.

"Everybody doubts themselves. It's part of being human," Amu said. "The only thing I'm doubting right now is whether or not you're worth my time."

Kiyomi went on as if not having heard her. "I haven't even Character Changed. See?" She pointed to her hair. "No gray bow."

"Your mother must be so proud," Amu said snidely.

"She will be," Kiyomi growled. "I'll make her see. I'll make them all see."

"What are you _talking_ about?" she asked.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know!"

"Yes, actually, I would," Amu said matter-of-factly. "I'd like to know a lot of things, starting with why you are breaking people's dreams."

"Aren't you tired of this?" Kiyomi asked.

"What I'm tired of is cleaning up your Broken-Egg messes. I'm tired of seeing people scared of you. I'm tired of watching you walk down the halls like you own the school!" exclaimed Amu.

She felt the adrenaline rushing through her veins and was surprised at herself. She'd never been this angry, and she'd never yelled at somebody like this before. Kiyomi brought out the bad in everybody.

Amu saw Kiyomi's shocked expression and she felt more confident. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed students appearing.

"I heard it from over here," one girl said, dragging her friends over.

"You can't control people, Makoto-_senpai_. We're not your dolls to play with. Your manipulative reign will come to an end. And when it does, nobody will miss you. How do you think that will feel?" Amu asked.

Kiyomi's yellow eyes narrowed dangerously as she looked around at the large crowd that had gathered.

"As if I care what you think about me, Hinamori-kohai. You're just a violent child-criminal," Kiyomi snapped.

"Nobody is going to believe the rumors you've spread," Amu replied, her temper going down. "Just give it up."

The president's gaze swept over the mesmerized crowd. "This isn't over," she growled at Amu, then fled quickly.

Silence followed as Amu turned to face the crowd. Her heart began racing again, and she felt nervous. But this had to be done.

"Hello," she said nervously. "Some of you might know me, but I'm Hinamori Amu and I'm a 7th grader. I'm considered cool and spicy because of something I said because I was embarrassed. Most of you have heard the rumors, and they're not true. My mom isn't a famous magazine editor, she's just the editor for _Housewives' Knowledge_. My father isn't a secret agent or an ace photographer; he's a wild bird photographer, though he usually takes pictures of my little sister. And I don't have a French boyfriend. I'm just...normal."

There was a bit of silence following that and she nervously smoothed her skirt.

"Um, that's all," she said awkwardly.

To her surprise, the crowd began cheering. Some of the girls rushed toward her, immediately hugging her. Among the group were Manami and Wakana, who were apologizing profusely for having doubted her. To Amu's delight, she even spied Emiko, the petite girl from her PE class.

She was surrounded by people who finally knew her for who she was, not for rumors that some person with nothing else to do came up with. Her heart was fit to burst with happiness.

* * *

Amu finally stood up to Kiyomi! Well, things are beginning to reach the climax here. In fact, they will! In the next chapter! Fancy that! LOL

Sorry I took so long. Finals are this week and swim season is coming to an end so I've been busy.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~K

**Next Episode: The Final Battle!**


	24. The Final Battle!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four - The Final Battle!**

They first saw the posters when they were walking to school. They were everywhere, covering anything that could be covered. Posters were strewn in the street, on cars' windows, and stapled to all trees, light posts, sign posts, walls, and doors. When they arrived at school, the posters were also everywhere.

"This is insane," Amu whispered.

"She's made her move," Tadase said, his eyes narrowing. "It's time to make our plan."

The posters were of Utau, and they were announcing that she would be singing her new song _Shards of Hope_ over the radio tonight. There was also an opportunity after the song for people to call in and get free CDs.

"It's going to be just like the concert," Nagi said.

"Except all over town," Rima added.

"We won't be able to cleanse them all," Amu said fearfully.

"That's why we need to stop her," Tadase told them. "We'll talk to Makoto-kun after school and - "

"Count me in."

They turned to see Kukai standing in front of them. He had a stubborn look on his face.

"Where have you been?" Tadase asked. "We haven't seen you for days."

"I've been sorting things out, thinking things through," Kukai replied. "I need to be in this battle."

Tadase frowned, but nodded. They were going to need all the help they could get.

"Be at the meeting. If you're not there, I can't have you helping us," Tadase told him firmly.

Kukai nodded. "I'll be there."

SCSCSC

It all came down to this moment, they knew. Somebody would win, somebody would lose.

The Guardians stared at the radio station where Shoji told them Utau would be singing. They were all in their various transformations, all ready.

"Everyone knows the plan?" Tadase asked.

When he heard their murmurs of confirmation, his hand tightened on his sword and thrust it into the air. As silently as possible, they charged the radio station.

Once inside they building, they separated into five different groups. Tadase and Hikaru were team one and Kairi, Shoji, and Yaya were team two. They were in charge of any Broken-Eggs that might be there. Rima, Nagi (as Yamato Maihime), and Rikka were in charge of purification of possible Broken-Eggs. Kukai was to find Utau and make sure she doesn't sing. Amu would fight Kiyomi.

The lobby area was empty, but that was expected since there windows facing the street along one of the walls. They doubted Kiyomi wanted an audience.

The group continued on, and what they found shocked them. Instead of Broken-Eggs, they found a large groups of kids who'd had their Broken-Eggs smashed. The intense atmosphere of despair and sadness was almost choking.

"She didn't tell me about this," Shoji said aloud in horror.

"Everyone else go on!" Tadase told them. "Ichinomiya-kun and I will handle them."

"Rikka," Rima said. "Stay behind to purify."

"Right!" Rikka replied, saluting.

The rest of the group went on, but the radio station was empty aside from Broken-Egg minions.

"The roof," Shoji said in realization. "She's on the roof!"

"How do you know? !" Amu asked as they ran toward where they'd seen the stairs.

"This morning, she was looking outside and said that it might rain, and that it might make things difficult," he replied.

When they arrived on the roof, sure enough, Kiyomi and Utau were standing in front of them. Along with an army of Broken-Egg minions.

"Oh, how nice," Kiyomi said sourly. "Utau-chan, we have an audience."

Utau turned her gray eyes to look at them. Kukai ground his teeth together.

"Go!" Amu shouted.

Team two and the purification team fanned out to distract the Broken-Egg minions. Kukai went straight over to Utau and Amu charged Kiyomi.

"Heart Rod!"

"Black Shard!"

Their weapons collided with a crack and they glared at each other.

"Awfully cold out to be wearing such a skimpy outfit, isn't it?" Kiyomi asked.

"Keep this up and I'll add another rip to your dress," Amu snapped.

"Fiesty!"

They separated and then ran at each other again. It became some sort of twisted dance, neither backing down but neither getting any further than colliding with the other's weapon.

Unexpectedly, Amu let out a gasp of pain and looked down at her stomach. Kiyomi's sword had scratched her. The cut was gray and a bit of darkness oozed out.

"Miki, switch out!" she said.

"Finally!" Miki exclaimed excitedly.

"Character Transformation: Amulet Spade! Prism Music!"

Kiyomi nimbly doged the notes and flew at her, slashing out with her sword at Amu. Amu blocked the attack with her baton, and the baton broke in half. Kiyomi laughed wickedly.

"Give it up already!" she taunted.

"You first! Su, switch out! Character Transformation: Amulet Clover!"

"That is one big skirt," Kiyomi said in amazement, raising an eyebrow.

"Remake Honey!" Amu cried in retaliation. The wave of honey washed out toward Kiyomi, but she simply dissolved the wave with a slash of her sword.

"Dia, sw - "

"Shattered Glass!"

The explosion of dark matter was unexpected and Amu felt the full force of the attack as different parts of her body turned gray and she couldn't move them. She fell to the ground and looked around at her friends as it began to rain.

The Broken-Egg minions had an ability to create and manipulate dark matter to their will, and there weren't enough Guardians to deflect all the attacks. Her friends were gray all over. Kukai was in the air on his skateboard with Utau in his arms and he was evidently struggling. Utau kept trying to wiggle out of his grasp and she kept summoning a dark matter microphone that would broadcast through the radio stations. Tadase, Hikaru, and Rikka were still downstairs dealing with the other minions.

They didn't know how to correctly fight off the minions. They couldn't use shiny or interesting attacks to appeal to their hearts or shugo chara because their shugo chara had been broken. They didn't want to hurt them either, because they were still friends and family. One minion was a girl from Ami's 1st grade class.

Her heart sunk. They were losing, and Kiyomi was going to win. Utau would sing her song and pull out everybody's eggs and break them. Despair would cover the earth.

Kiyomi stood over her, an evil sneer painted across her face. She held her sword in her hands and pointed it at Amu. Amu swallowed and closed her eyes, preparing for the strike.

"_Holy Crown!_"

Amu's eyes flew open and she turned to see four figures emerge from the door of the small room that held the staircase. The first three were Tadase, Hikaru, and Rikka, but the fourth -

"Slash Claw!"

Ikuto in his Black Lynx transformation slashed Kiyomi with his claws she stumbled backwards and let out a yell of outrage. He turned to Amu and helped her up. Her eyes were wide with surprise and she opened her mouth to say something when he cut her off.

"Please excuse me, Princess," he said with his iconic grin, "but I have to rescue my sister."

He ran off in the direction of the fight and she turned back to her enemy.

She at Kiyomi and attacked ferociously. She managed to knock the sword out of Kiyomi's hand and it fell off the roof and down to the ground. Kiyomi's eyes narrowed.

"Cracked Darkness!"

Amu frozed, scared and unsure. She'd heard about this immobilizing attack from Rima and Nagi, but she had no way to defend herself.

"Tightrope Dancer!"

Brown ropes shot out and wrapped around the dark matter, binding it until it disappeared.

Amu turned to Rima and smiled. "Thank - _watch out!_"

A minion had sneaked up behind Rima and was about to attack her, but Nagi - technically Nadeshiko at the moment - stepped in and protected her. Amu turned her attention back to Kiyomi.

"Honey Bubbles!"

A multitude of bubbles flew out and hit Kiyomi. For bubbles, they were surprisingly powerful. They knocked her over and managed to make her drop her sword.

"Are you ready, Amu-chan?" Dia asked.

Amu smiled and nodded. "Dia, switch out! Character Transformation: Amulet Diamond! Twinkle Hold!"

Kiyomi was quickly immobilized in the many glittering stars. Amu approached and pointed a threatening finger at her.

"Tell me why you're doing this," she said quietly, but the order was clear in her tone.

"Really?" Kiyomi asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're going to make me tell my life story _now?_"

"Tell it!" Amu yelled.

"All right, all right." The president sighed. "When I was younger, about ten, I started watching the news. I heard about all the terrible things that were happening to people: slavery, abuse, starvation...it made me depressed every day, and my parents tried to stop me from watching it, but I insisted. Then, one day, it hit me. I wanted to help them."

Everything around them seemed to slow down. The minions all stopped fighting and sat down on the ground. The Guardians stood stock still and listened to her story.

Kiyomi's eyes were sad as she recounted her tale. "I was thirteen when Masuyo came to me. She was my first shugo chara, born from my dream of wanting to help the world. I tried starting a charity to give toys to sick kids in hospitals, but nobody donated. Then I arranged a food drive, but nobody came. When I was trying to start up a pen pal business, my parents...they told me to give it up."

She looked up at Amu, her expression angry. "Could you imagine that? Huh? Parents telling a thirteen year old girl to give up their dream because it was useless?"

Amu was stricken and Kiyomi looked away. "Well, mine did. They told me that my dream would never come true because people just didn't care about things like that these days. Money's tight, so people don't want to donate. People aren't as caring as they used to be. If they didn't know the person and it wasn't affecting them, then why should they bother? My parents probably thought that they were saving me from being disappointed, but they destroyed me."

Kiyomi swallowed before she continued. "Masuyo and I had a fight that night. She told me to keep trying, because anything was possible if you tried. I yelled at her and told her that nobody cared, that I didn't care. The world was going to hell and we were all driving the bus. Nobody was going to steer us back on course, especially not a thirteen year old girl. Masuyo returned to her egg and I went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, she was gone."

Tears leaked out the corners of Kiyomi's eyes. "I was devastated. Everything I did I was negative about. I became a control freak. If something was going wrong, then it was all my fault, just like Masuyo's disappearance. I had somehow retained the ability to see other people's shugo chara, and seeing them so happy made me sick. At the end of last year, Kara was born, and I came up with my Broken-Egg plan. It was going perfectly until you stupid Guardians started saving them."

She glared at Amu as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I just want to save them from the devastation that I felt. Is that so wrong?" she challenged.

"Wanting to save people is not wrong," Amu replied slowly. "However, the methods you've been using are. Look around at these kids. Is this really what you want for them? To live their lives as dead, empty shells? Is this what you want for yourself?"

Kiyomi's transformation suddenly undid itself and Kara floated in front of her. The stars that restrained Kiyomi disappeared, and she stared at the little gray chara.

"K-Kara..." she whispered.

"It hurts," Kara said in her emotionless voice. "I don't like breaking other shugo chara. I don't want to have to break myself. I did what you wanted me to because I'm your shugo chara, and I love you. But I hate seeing you like this. This isn't your true self, Kiyomi-chan."

"Kara," Kiyomi cried, reaching out and hugging the chara to her face. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry..."

Kara began glowing with a white light and she rose up into the air, out of her owner's grasp. Kiyomi's eyes were wide with fear.

"No!" she yelled. "No, please don't disappear! Don't leave me!"

"I'm not leaving you," a warm voice said, coming from the light. The light faded and a shugo chara with white hair in a bob and amber eyes floated in front of Kiyomi. She wore a simple white dress with an amber tie around the waist, a spatter of amber stars along the hem, and matching white shoes.

"Kara?" Kiyomi asked incredulously, her eyes wide.

The chara shook her head. "You freed my true self, Kiyomi-chan. Your dream has changed from wanting to break dreams to wanting to fulfill dreams. My name is Akira."

"A-Akira," she said, smiling. "Akira!"

"Come on, Kiyomi-chan," Akira said. "We have to fix this."

Kiyomi rose on shaky legs, leaning on an unsure Amu for balance.

"Character Transformation: Bright Star!"

Kiyomi wore a white dress with a billowy skirt and sleeves. Amber stars curved around her skirt. A white ribbon was tied around a lock of her hair. She had donned white sandals and amber socks that went up to her knees.

Everybody stared at her, mesmerized by the sudden change of feeling in the atmosphere. The choking despair had changed into a peaceful hope. Kiyomi had especially changed. She wore a soft smile instead of a cruel sneer, and her brittle yellow eyes had become warm and peaceful, like sunshine.

"Kiyomi!" Shoji called. He ran to his sister, though his gait was clumsy because of the knight's armor he wore in his transformation. They hugged each other tightly and they started crying.

"I'm sorry, Shoji," she cried.

"It's okay," he told her. "But you have work to do."

"I know." They released each other and she stood up. She put a hand to her heart and smiled softly. "Glorious Hope!"

An amber glow expanded from her and surrounded them. It spread farther and farther, seeming to cover the entire town. Everybody's spirits were instantly lifted. The people who'd had their eggs broken lifted into the air, their bodies glowing white. Their Heart's Eggs began rematerializing in front of them and then reentered their hearts and they sank back to the ground.

"Utau!"

They turned and saw Utau returned to her normal colors. She was shakily standing and had a hand to her head. Her eyes fluttered open for a moment and she looked confused.

"What..." Her thought was never finished because she suddenly fainted and fell forward.

Ikuto started to move toward her, but he was beaten by Kukai. Kukai knelt on the ground and cradled Utau close to his body, murmuring her name over and over again.

Everybody's eyes widened as the realization dawned on them that the reason for Kukai's recently ill behavior was in his arms. Then they realized another thing as the amber light around them began to fade and it stopped raining:

The long battle was over. It was finally over.

* * *

But the story is _not_ over! Nope, nope, nope! I've still got some things in store for you! *wink wink* LOL!

So, what do you think of the new, reformed Kiyomi? I know that lots of people want to kill her, and, frankly, I did too! But I really like her character and how she developed. Tell me in reviews what you think about her now! (Of course, you haven't seen much of her newfound good heartedness. You'll see more of that in chapter 27.)

Woohoo for Yoru returning and helping Ikuto kick butt! I promise you'll see some more of him in the next chapter.

Here are the final results of the **Which Shugo Chara pairing do you like best?** poll:  
Rimahiko - 28 (18%)  
Amuto - 26 (16%)  
Kutau - 22 (14%)  
Kaiya - 16 (10%)  
Miru - 12 (7%)  
Amuhiko - 9 (5%)  
Yuukari - 8 (5%)  
Rikkaru - 7 (4%)  
Raichi - 7 (4%)  
Tadamu - 6 (3%)  
Kaimu - 4 (2%)  
Kukamu - 3 (1%)  
Kukaya - 3 (1%)  
Ikutau - 1 (1%)  
Miseki - 1 (1%)  
Tadaya - 0 (0%)  
Ikulu - 0 (0%)  
Michi - 0 (0%)

I'm sorry this took so long to publish. School is wearing me out.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Music of the Heart!**


	25. Music of the Heart!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five - Music of the Heart!**

When Utau came to, she felt very dizzy and exhausted. Lights swam before her eyes and everything was very bright. She was covered in white, itchy blankets, and when she raised her head off the pillow she saw somebody sitting in a chair next to her bed. She would've smiled if she had the energy to when she saw that he was asleep, his head buried in his arms on the bed.

She raised her arm up and touched his head. He woke with a start and his wide eyes met hers. He breathed an obvious sigh of relief and a smile broke out onto his face.

"Utau," he said, taking her hand.

"Kukai," she returned, smiling weakly before her head dropped back on her pillow.

Kukai jumped out of his chair and got several more pillows for her from one of the cabinets in the room. He carefully and gently propped her up.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Mm," she replied, looking sad. "I'm really sor - "

The door opened and she turned her head to see Ikuto standing before her. He looked like a wreck. His eyes were tired and his hair was messy, his clothes rumpled. She looked at Kukai and noticed that he appeared the same way.

Ikuto looked at Kukai and nodded his head slightly.

"I'll see you in a bit," Kukai said to her. He shut the door behind him and Ikuto sat in the chair.

"Where am I?" Utau asked.

"The hospital," he replied. "You fainted after the battle."

"The what?" But then she remembered and she suddenly felt like she wanted to throw up. She'd lost faith in her dreams, and she'd gotten Broken-Eggs from...Kiyomi.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Amu beat the Kiyomi girl," Ikuto said. "Apparently she's good now, we're not sure. She returned everybody's eggs. You fainted, so we took you here. The doctor says that you're malnourished and that you've been anorexic for the past two months."

Utau cringed at the distraught look on his face.

"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked desperately. "We could've helped you. We could've worked it out or..._something_."

"This isn't your fault," she told him as fiercely as she could. "_I_ chose not to tell anyone because...well, I didn't want to stop. It made me feel better about myself. I was under pressure and stress and I didn't know what to do, so I stopped eating. It just progressed from there."

He didn't respond. He only looked more pained and confused. She frowned and squeezed his hand.

"Stop worrying," she said. "We can only move forward now."

He nodded and ran a hand through his hair. Then something - or, rather, _someone_ - caught her eye.

"_Yoru?_" she asked in disbelieft.

The cat chara came out from where he hid behind Ikuto's head. He grinned sheepishly.

"Yo~nya," he said as Iru and Eru flew toward him.

"What - how - " Utau sputtered in surprise and shock.

"I wanted to help you, and I couldn't as I was," Ikuto said. "I saw the posters around town and I was wishing and wishing that I would somehow be able to save you, and then Yoru came back."

"Just visiting~nya," Yoru said, smiling.

Ikuto nodded and fondly patted the chara's head.

"But, how?" Utau asked.

"Tsukasa explained it to me at Nikaidou and Sanjo's wedding. Shugo chara never disappear completely. They live in your heart, and they can be reborn as many times as you want them to. We all hold the power of the Embryo in our own hearts," he explained.

She nodded slowly and looked at her own charas, who gave her smiles of unspoken forgiveness. Her eyes filled with tears and she quickly wiped them away, not wanting Ikuto to see.

"Why me?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?"

Utau sighed and stared at the ceiling. "Why am I always being used? I'm so sick of it."

There was a silence as he thought about the answer to her difficult question.

"Music has a way of entering people's hearts and making them feel," he replied slowly. "Especially your singing. You put such passion and emotion into every single song. That's why everybody loves listening to you sing, and that's why they take advantage of you."

"It's not fair," she told him.

"No, it's not."

Both of their voices were resigned, because they knew that life wasn't fair, and that it never would be. But that couldn't stop them from wishing.

"I'm leaving."

Utau straightened up and looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"I'm going back to France," he said, not meeting her gaze.

"No - "

He raised a hand and cut off her protest. "I've got a lead on where Dad might be."

"You can't leave me now," Utau said. Tears came into her eyes again, but she didn't bother to wipe them away this time.

"I have to," he told her, desperation in his voice. "I have to find him, and tell him that it's okay to come home."

"But I need you," she mumbled, looking down at her tightly clasped hand where the tears fell and landed.

He reached out and wiped her cheeks. "You're in good hands."

She looked confused and he nodded toward the door. She blushed.

"He never left your side," Ikuto said.

"You did," she said stubbornly, despite her tiny smile at what he said. "And you are."

"Mom and I waited outside," he replied, ignoring her last statement. "We figured it would be better to leave the two of you alone."

"I was unconscious," she pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

Ikuto shrugged. "He was happy either way."

Utau sighed. "Ikuto, I - "

"It's alright with me if you like him," he said, though he looked internally conflicted.

She laughed lightly. "Thank you."

He got up from the chair and kissed her forehead, then opened the door and left. Kukai reentered soon after.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked as he sat down.

She nodded. "Much."

He grinned at her and she smiled back. This was what she'd been missing all these days. This was what she needed.

"Kukai?" she said.

"Yes?"

"I have something to tell you." She took a breath and then began, "I'm sorry. Everything I said to you was mean and uncalled for. I didn't mean it, any of it."

He nodded, listening intently.

"I was confused and stressed, and everything was difficult for me. But for you, everything was simple. It made me angry, and so I lashed out. And I am so, so sorry," she told him.

"It doesn't matter anymore," he replied.

Utau smiled, and then grinned mischievously. "You're still a kid, though." She sighed dramatically and turned her nose in the air. "Only a kid would forgive me so easily. I can't believe that I love such a kid."

His cheeks tinted a light pink and he raised his eyebrows. "You said it three times," he pointed out. "Time for your punishment."

She nodded and he rose out of his chair and lightly kissed her. He rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes.

"I love you too," he said softly. "Even though your brother scares me to death."

"What did he say?" she asked.

He chuckled and stood up, running a hand through his hair. "He said that if I ever made you cry, hurt you in any way, et cetera, that he'd personally hunt me down, kill me, feed my entrails to stray cats, mount my head on a spike as a keepsake, and never let you out of his sight again."

Her jaw dropped. "He wouldn't!" she exclaimed.

"For you, he would."

They laughed together and he leaned over to kiss her again.

* * *

So sweet! So kawai! So...fluffy! Yay!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Find Your Dream!**


	26. Find Your Dream!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six - Find Your Dream!**

"Amu-chan!"

Hearing her name, Amu stopped and turned. There behind her were her friends. Kukai, looking much happier than he'd been in weeks. Yaya, cheerfully skipping along with Pepe by her side. Rima, smiling a true smile. Nagi, watching Rima with warm eyes. Kairi, walking happily next to Yaya. And Tadase, looking at her with his knowing gaze.

She smiled and ran down to meet them.

"It's so surreal, isn't it?" Rima said.

"What is, Rima-chan?" Nagi asked quizzically.

She smiled a bit. "How everything is going on as normal, even though it feel like everything has changed."

Kukai nodded slowly and closed his eyes. "My thoughts exactly."

"What do you think is going to happen at school?" Kairi wondered.

"I'm not sure," Tadase replied.

"I'm nervous," Amu admitted reluctantly. Tadase turned and smiled gently at her, and she felt better instantly.

"Don't worry!" Yaya exclaimed. "The fighting's over; it can only get better!"

The group nodded.

"I hope you're right," Amu said.

Kairi looked down at his watch. "We'd better get going if we want to be on time. Come on, Yaya-chan."

Yaya blushed ever so slightly and they started walking to the elementary school.

"Ready?" Tadase asked Amu as the rest of them went toward the middle school.

"...No," she sighed, and then gasped slightly as she felt him take her hand. He squeezed her hand and nodded encouragingly. She turned her eyes forward and nodded.

_'Now or never,'_ she thought. Together, they took the first step forward.

SCSCSC

"Hinamori-san?"

Just as they entered the building, she and Tadase turned to see Tsukasa approaching them.

"May I talk to you before class starts? I'll write you a pass if you're late," he said.

"Okay," Amu said, and waved goodbye to Tadase.

She followed Tsukasa down the hall and into his office. He closed the door and she took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. He stood by the window and gazed out. After a few moments of silence, she cleared her throat and he smiled at her.

"Congratulations," he said.

"For what?" she asked in confusion.

He chuckled and sat down at his desk. "For saving everyone. You saved their dreams. You saved Makoto-san's dream."

"It wasn't just me," she mumbled in embarrassment.

"Of course, of course, but you played a significant part in making Makoto-san see sense," he told her.

Amu nodded and shrugged slightly, feeling the indifferent side of her coming out.

"And you must be wondering where to go from here," he said.

She looked up, eyes wide as her barriers went down. "How did you know?"

His eyes sparkled with mischief. "I'm very intuitive. Now, how are you feeling?"

Amu folded her hands and stared at her lap. Her charas rested gently on her shoulders.

"I don't know if I can trust her," she said. "Her dream changed, and she looks genuinely happy and sorry for what she's done, but...I can't help but doubt. I don't think I can forgive her. What she did was absolutely horrible."

"Many people have done terrible things and regretted it. Does that mean they have to be convicted for the rest of their lives?" he countered.

Amu looked up in fury. "She crushed people's dreams! She forced them to lose hope in themselves and everything around them just because she was hurt!"

"Her intentions were meant to be good," he pointed out. "She just wanted to prevent them from feeling how she felt."

Her eyes narrowed. "She _targeted_ my _sister_."

Tsukasa nodded slowly and closed his eyes for a moment. "Forgiveness is a funny thing. I've always like the saying, 'Forgive and forget,' but we never forget, now do we?" He chuckled to himself before continuing.

"Think a moment about everybody else that you've forgiven. Nikaidou Yuu created X-Eggs to find the Embryo, used Ikuto as his slave, and stole your shugo charas because he wanted his wish granted. Tsukiyomi Ikuto destroyed many X-Eggs and worked for Easter because he didn't want the company to hurt his sister and mother. Sanjo Yukari manipulated Utau's singing to create X-Eggs because she wanted her own wish granted. Sanjo Kairi lied and betrayed you by telling his sister information and selling the Black Diamond CDs because he wanted to help his sister. Hoshina Utau used her songs and took your Dia to extract X-Eggs because she wanted to use the Embryo to set her beloved brother free from Easter. Lulu de Morcef Yamamoto lied to you and created ?-Eggs because she wanted to return her mother to glory. Ichinomiya Hikaru was in charge of all of this because his heart had been hardened by a tought childhood. And you forgave them all."

Amu sat back in the chair, her eyes wide.

"You forgave them all, even though they did terrible things. They stole your charas, manipulated you, lied to you, destroyed dreams, and went behind your back. Yet they are your friends today," Tsukasa told her. "In the end, it's up to you if you forgive Makoto-san or not."

Her heart felt heavy and she hung her head, feeling confused and unsure. She looked up when Tsukasa was by her side and handing her a pass to class. In the distant, she heard the bell for school to start, but she was far from caring at the moment.

"That's all I wanted to talk to you about," he said.

Numbly, she got up from her chair and went through the door that he held open.

"Oh, and Hinamori-san?"

She turned and met his purple eyes, wondering what else he could have to say.

"'To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you,'" he said.

He smiled at her one last time, and closed the door. Amu turned slowly back around and knew that she had to make a decision.

SCSCSC

_"Everyone please go to the gym for an assembly for the last hour. Please go to the gym for an assembly. Thank you."_

The class looked at Nikaidou, confused by the announcement. Nikaidou shrugged.

"To the gym!" he said.

Everybody quickly rose from their seats and walked into the crowded halls as everybody tried to get to this unexpected assembly.

"Do you know what's going on?" Tadase asked when he reached Amu.

"No," she replied.

Slowly but surely, they got to the gym. All the chairs had been assembled and a podium sat on a raised platform at the front of the gym. There was nothing to explain why they were there.

Luckily, Amu and her friends all got seats next to each other. None of the others knew what was going on either.

As soon as everybody was seated, Tsukasa stood in front of the podium.

"Thank you for coming and being so flexible with this surprise assembly. Now, Makoto-san?"

He stepped down from the podium and took his place with the rest of the teachers. The air was heavy with tension as Kiyomi made her way to the podium. There was definitely something different about her. Her yellow eyes were brighter, and she just seemed to have a happier presence than before. Akira floated by her shoulder.

Once she reached the podium, she nervously cleared her throat and began speaking.

"Hello," she said quietly. "I'm sure you're all wondering why we're having this assembly. Well, I requested it, because I want to do something. And what I want to to is apologize, apologize to all of you. I'm sorry. I've been a terrible, bossy, mean president and all I've done is manipulated you guys. The truth is, I was hurt in my childhood, and I felt like I couldn't be happy anymore, and I was jealous of all of you having fun. So I started controlling everyone because it made me feel important.

"But that wasn't the way to go about it and I'm sorry. You see, I had some sense knocked into me over the weekend. I have them to thank. Hotori Tadase, Souma Kukai, Mashiro Rima, Fujisaki Nagihiko, Sanjo Kairi, Yuiki Yaya, my little brother, and many, many others. Thank you. Without you guys, I never would've realized all the pain that I've been causing. I've hurt a lot of people recently, and I'm sorry. Words can't convey how sorry I am. Really, nothing can ever make up for the pain that I caused, but I hope that you all can find it in your hearts to forgive me."

Amu looked at her friends, who all had the same astonished looks on their faces. She switched her gaze back to Kiyomi, and felt her heart get even heavier with her burden.

"And now, I'd like to announce that I'm going to start a volunteer organization called Find Your Dream. It will be a group of people who will meet with and mentor young elementary students and encourage them to be the best they can be, without giving up. I hope that this way, kids won't be discouraged like I was. Please join, and please help.

"Once again, I apologize. I apologize a thousand times over, and I'm sorry I can't do more. That is all."

Kiymoi smiled genuinely at them all and stepped down from the podium. She turned and began walking toward the doors that would take her out of the gym. The silence was suffocating.

Then, a miracle. Someone in the audience started clapping, and slowly everyone else joined in. Even Amu and her friends. They all rose to their feet and cheered and clapped their approval of her apology.

Just before the doors, Kiyomi stopped and stared, tears of happiness in her eyes. She quickly stepped through the doors before she started crying.

Tsukasa quickly went back up to the podium and they quieted down. He glanced at his watch and shrugged. "Goodbye to you all. School will be dismissed early today, it seems."

The cheers resumed and the chaos from before returned as everyone tried rushing out of the gym.

"I think she meant it," Nagi said once they were away from the crowds.

"Me too," Kukai agreed.

"But do we forgive her?" Rima asked softly.

Silence followed her question as they all thought.

"I do," Tadase said decisively. Rima, Nagi, and Kukai all murmured their agreement. Amu simply smiled a bit.

_'Do I?'_ she wondered to herself.

"Well, I have to go meet up with Utau," Kukai said, waving as he departed.

"I'd better go home," Rima said, smiling. "Mama will be surprised that I'm home so early."

"You're not being picked up anymore?" Amu asked with surprised.

The blonde shook her head happily. "Not anymore, as long as Nagi walks with me."

Nagi smiled. "Let's go, Rima-chan."

Tadase looked at Amu and smiled. "Are you going to pick up Ami?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

She paused as his understanding eyes bored into hers. She shook her head.

"No, thank you. I want some time to think," she said.

Tadase nodded and squeezed her shoulder, then left for his home.

Amu sighed and stared up at the sky as she walked to the elementary school.

"Amu-chan?" Su asked.

"Are you okay?" Miki voiced.

"I'm not sure what to do," Amu replied quietly.

"You'll know," Dia said confidently. "When the time comes to decide, you'll know."

Amu smiled at the yellow chara. "Thank you."

"Go, go, Amu-chan!" Ran cheered, and they all laughed.

"Nee-chan!" Ami exclaimed as they approached. "Shugoi chara!"

"Hi Ami," she greeted, kneeling down to hug her little sister. "How was your day?"

"Good!" Ami answered cheerfully.

Amu nodded and smiled. "That's good. Come on, let's - "

"Hinamori-san?"

She froze, eyes wide, as she heard the voice that usually stuck fear into her heart. She slowly rose to her feet and turned to see Kiyomi standing in front of her.

"Yes?" Amu answered robotically.

"I wanted to apologize to you, face to face," Kiyomi started. "There's not much more I can say after the assembly today, but I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am. And I want to thank you, especially, for making me understand how wrong I was. I'll always regret what I did, but I'll always remember that you saved me. Thank you."

There was a beat of silence as the president searched for what to say next. She swallowed nervously and looked Amu in the eyes, and then spoke.

"Can you forgive me?"

Amu's mind raced. After everything Kiyomi had done, could she forgive her? _Should _she forgive her? The pain, the torment, the worry...all of it had been because of her. And yet, Tsukasa had a point. The others had done terrible things as well. They'd also caused pain, torment, and worry, and she forgave them.

_"'To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you...'"_

Her eyes widened slightly and she knew what to say.

"Yes," Amu replied. "Yes, I forgive you."

Almost instantaneously, she felt the burden lift from her heart, and knew that what Tsukasa had said was correct. She didn't want to hold on to that anger and blame for the rest of her life. No good could come of it. It felt much better to just forgive her.

Kiyomi's eyes filled with tears again and she quickly wiped them away. "Thank you. Thank you so much. Amu, I...I want to show you something."

Amu nodded and Kiyomi reached into her bag and pulled out a Guardian Egg. Amu could tell it wasn't Akira's, because Akira's egg was amber and white colored. This egg was a light blue with patterns of hearts and globes covering it.

"Who...?"

"It's Masuyo," Kiyomi replied. "She came back to me."

Amu briefly flashed back to when Ran, Miki, and Su returned and the joy she had felt. "That's amazing."

"Nee-chan?" Ami asked, tugging at Amu's jacket.

Kiyomi looked down at Ami and smiled, then looked at Amu. At almost a whisper, she asked, "Can I say hello to her?"

Amu's heart beat with a flash of anxiety, but she nodded.

Kiyomi slowly knelt down and smiled at Ami. "Hello, my name is Kiyomi. What's yours?"

"Ami!"

"Do you have a dream? Do you want to become something?" Kiyomi asked.

Ami grinned. "I want to be like nee-chan! And sing like Utau-chan! And take pictures like Papa! And write like Mama!"

Kiyomi chuckled. "Well, you certainly have a lot of dreams."

"Yep! And I want shugoi chara, too!" she exclaimed.

Kiyomi, Amu, and their charas all began laughing. And it felt good. They were without worry, without fear. Just happy.

"Ki-nee?"

Kiyomi turned to see Shoji standing next to her. She stood up and brushed the grass off. "Hi Shoji. Ready to go home?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

Kiyomi looked at Amu and smiled. There was a moment of hesitation, and then Kiyomi reached out and hugged her. Amu stood still with shock as a part of her mind screamed danger, but she pushed it back and hugged her back. They broke apart after a moment and shared a smile. Then, they went home.

"She was nice," Ami said as they walked.

"Yeah," Amu said, smiling to herself. "Yeah, she is."

* * *

I am suuuuuuuuuuuuuper sorry at how long I've been gone! School was - is - majorly stressing me out and I didn't have time at all. I hope you can forgive me? (I just realized that this chapter is about forgiveness; wow, irony) I hope you can!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please review or PM me! Til next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Heart Wrenching Goodbye!**


	27. Heart Wrenching Goodbye!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven - Heart Wrenching Goodbye!**

When Amu woke up, she was surprised. She laid in her bed with the sun streaming through the window, her charas blinking sleepily at her, and feeling completely at ease. She wasn't worried about which patrolling shift she would have, whether or not they'd find a Broken-Egg, or who else would be hurt. It was nice. Plus, it helped that it was a Saturday.

She lazily got up and ready for the day, just focusing on taking in everything around her. The simple pleasures.

"Amu-chan, would you get the door?"

"Yes, Mom!" she replied, snapping out of her daydream.

She stood up from the couch, straightened her skirt, and opened the front door. "Hello - "

But there was nobody around. She looked up and down the street, but there was no one to be seen. Just as she was about to close the door, a small piece of paper floated down to the ground. When she stooped over to pick it up, she saw a single blue cat pawprint on it.

"Is anybody there?" her mom asked.

"Oh, ah, no!" she replied, snatching the paper and closing the door.

"I wonder who it might've been," Mrs. Hinamori mused, then paused. "Amu-chan?"

Amu was already upstairs. "Sorry, Mom! I have to fold my clothes!"

Heart racing, she approached her room and gripped the doorknob. She slowly turned it and opened the door. She braced herself and stepped into the room, only to feel disappointment. Nobody was in her room. Everything was as she left it that morning.

She took a breath and told herself to calm down. It didn't mean anything. Anybody could've put the piece of paper there. Maybe it wasn't even meant for her. It blew out of some little kid's hand and ended up at her door. A complete coincidence.

_Tap, tap, tap._

Amu jumped off her bed and turned around to face the sliding glass door. She ran forward and pulled the curtain back, then sucked in a breath. There he stood, casting his shadow over her. The sun illuminated his dark figure and made the lights in his eyes dance.

"Ikuto," she breathed, smiling as she quickly undid the latch and he let himself into her room.

"You're growing up," he said as a greeting, nodding toward the glass door. "You locked it."

She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted me to grow up."

He didn't answer, only slid the door shut and sat down in her desk chair like always. And, like always, she perched herself on the edge of her bed.

She held up the piece of paper with the paw. "So, this was you?"

He grinned. "I figured you'd understand."

"Why didn't you just come in through the front door?"

"Your mom doesn't like me anymore."

She fell silent as she remembered the last time he came to her front doorstep. A blush rose in her cheeks as she also remembered the way he held her, his breath in her ear...

He cleared his throat and stretched his arms above his head, effectively regaining her attention. "So, you forgave Makoto?"

Amu nodded and smiled a bit. "Yes. And I feel better. We can't hold on to anger and grudges. If we do, then we become like she did. It's far better to let go."

His eyes were dark as he took this in. "She attacked my sister."

"She attacked my sister, too," Amu pointed out. "But she's different now. She's good."

He shrugged, dismissing the topic. A moment of awkward silence followed, so she cleared her throat and then noticed something.

"No Yoru?" she asked.

Ikuto smiled sadly. "He returned to the Heart's Cradle yesterday. But I know he's with me."

She smiled back. "That's good."

He stood up suddenly. "Come with me."

"What?" she asked.

"I said, come with me." Ikuto reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her up off the bed.

"I can't just leave!" she exclaimed.

"Then tell your parents you're going somewhere," he replied.

She sighed with exasperation, grabbed her jacket, and ran out of her room and down the stairs.

"Mom! Dad! I'm going to the park with my friends!" she called.

"Have fun!" her mother called back.

"Thanks! Bye!"

Amu walked outside and Ikuto appeared behind her. She smiled at him and then they started walking. There was silence for most of the walk, but it wasn't awkward kind of silence where they were both wondering about what to talk about. It was a comfortable silence, like they were just enjoying each other's presence.

"Where are we going?" she asked after a while.

"I don't know," he replied.

She raised an eyebrow. "What? You dragged me out of my house and you don't know where we're going?"

"I just wanted to spend some time with you," he said simply, shrugging.

Her cheeks turned pink. She opened her and blinked her eyes, but then remained silent.

Ikuto looked at her and smiled softly, yet sadly. A pang hit his heart all of sudden, so he looked away from her so she couldn't see. He noticed an ice cream stand and bought them two chocolate cones.

"Thank you!" Amu said, carefully licking hers so it wouldn't drip over the sides.

He watched her and remembered when she landed in his lap that one day at this very same park. He shared an ice cream with Amu, and then Tadase got mad and fought him.

"Hey, remember when..." Amu said, voicing the exact same memory he was just thinking about.

"Yeah," he replied, laughing quietly to himself. "We've had some good times."

"Had?" she asked, frowning.

He paused, then smiled. "We have good times. That's what I meant."

"Alright," Amu replied, doubt in her voice.

He reached down and took her hand and began running. She let out a small yelp as she was dragged along with him.

"Everyone's looking at us!" she exclaimed.

"Let them!" he replied.

She looked at all the people smiling at them and felt embarrassed yet again.

"What a cute couple," one woman remarked.

Amu's eyes widened and her cheeks turned red, then she looked at Ikuto. Ikuto, with his blue hair, wild eyes, and comforting presence. Her hand tightened around his and he looked back and smiled at her.

When they finally slowed down, they found themselves outside the construction site at the old amusement park. They didn't say anything, and then air was heavy with sadness.

"They took the ferris wheel down," he said.

"I think the tea cups are still there," she replied.

He looked at her with a mischievous expression and she instantly became wary.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

Without a word, he threw her over her shoulder and quickly scaled the chain link fence. A moment later, he dropped to the ground and set her down.

"This is against the rules!" she exclaimed.

"Only if you get caught," he replied as he began walking.

She stood there sputtering for a moment, and then followed him. They walked to the tea cups and he chose one and sat down in it. She followed suit.

"I'm almost too big," she noted, squeezing her legs in front of her. "It was only two years ago when I used to fit."

She looked at him sadly. He, too, was also cramped and squished.

"You're growing up," he told her.

"I don't want to," she replied, resting her forehead on her knees. "Everything seems to get more complicated as you get older."

"It does get complicated. But it also gets more fun. You meet more people and you make more friends and memories."

She contemplated this and knew that he was right.

"Sometimes I wish we could stay little for forever, and never have a care in the world," she said after a moment.

"And ride the tea cups for as long as we wanted," he added.

"And eat chocolate ice cream all the time!"

They looked at each other and laughed as an image of their wish floated through their minds: the two of them when they were younger on the tea cups, smiling.

"Hey! You kids! You can't be in here!" a man shouted, breaking them out of their reverie.

Quickly, they squeezed themselves out of the tea cup and ran out of the amusement park, Ikuto carrying Amu over the fence again. Once on the other side, they kept running until they were out of breath.

They slowed down and sat on a bench to catch their breath. Then they looked at each other and laughed.

"I feel little again when I'm with you," she said.

"Me too," he replied, grinning.

She sighed and smiled up at the colorful sunset.

"I should probably take you home," he said, standing up.

"Alright," she replied.

They walked in silence again, but this time it felt different. He didn't walk next to her; there was a space between them. And the air was heavy with tension.

When they were a block away from her house, he stopped walking.

"Ikuto?" she asked, turning around to look at him.

He wouldn't meet her eyes and he stared at the ground. "I'm leaving again."

"What? !" she exclaimed. "But, why? !"

"I've got a new lead on where my father might be," he replied.

She walked closer to him. "But...what about Utau? You can't leave her."

"She's in good hands, and you know it," he answered.

Amu paused, thinking. In a small voice, she said, "You can't leave me."

He met her gaze for a split second and ran a hand through his hair. "Amu..."

"I mean it! You've looked for your father for long enough. It's time you stayed here. We have good times together, don't we? You said so yourself!"

"I need to search for him. We've talked about this before," he said.

"Ikuto, I...I..." Her mind reeled and her heart raced as her throat became dry. "I love you."

His wide eyes met hers and he sighed.

"I do! I love you, Ikuto! Not Tadase! I'm the lock and you're key...we're meant to be together!" she exclaimed, walking forward.

"I lied about the key," he said quietly.

"...What?" she asked, her heart beating painfully in her chest.

"The key was never mine to begin with. I stole it from Tadase so I could Character Tranform. We're not lock and key."

She shook her head. "That doesn't matter. I still love you. And you..." She trailed off, fear in her voice.

He sighed again and her hands flew up to her mouth in shock.

"I don't love you, Amu," he said. "Yes, I had a crush on you. Yes, I have fun when I'm with you. But you're just a friend who's fun to mess with."

"No..." she choked out.

"I'm sorry," he replied, taking a step forward.

"No! Stay away from me!" she cried, the tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. She turned around and ran to her house, slamming the door behind her as she bolted up to her room.

"Amu-chan? !" her mother exclaimed, chasing after her.

"Leave me alone!" Amu sobbed, blocking the door to her room with a chair before collapsing onto her bed.

"Amu-chan, what's wrong?" she asked, knocking on the door and jiggling the handle.

"Just go away," she cried.

The jiggling stopped and then a moment later she could hear footsteps going down the stairs.

"Amu - " Ran started.

"Be quiet," she whispered, her voice filled with pain. "Please."

Her charas looked at each other and then retreated back to their eggs.

Amu put her face in her pillow and screamed. She let the tears flow relentlessly down her cheeks, soaking her pillow as she screamed until her throat was raw. When she couldn't scream anymore, she just cried and moaned.

How could she have been so stupid? Her mother had warned her not to fall for him, but she did anyway. Why did he let her believe that he loved her? Telling her to grow up, wishing they could be little together, wanting to spend time with her...why?

Thinking about it made the pain of rejection and heartbreak worse, and she cried until she fell asleep.

SCSCSC

"I love you too," he said quietly.

Ikuto stood outside her house and stared up at her room until Amu's mother looked out the window and saw him. She glared with ferocity and then closed the curtains, turning out the light.

He turned away and closed his eyes, hearing her sobs and seeing her pained face in his mind.

_You had to_, he kept telling himself. He wasn't good for her. It was better to let her go than let her get hurt. She would realize that she truly loves Tadase, and they would live happily ever after...without him.

He stopped and looked once more at her house.

"Goodbye," he said quietly, and then kept walking. He put his hands in his pockets and felt his crumpled airplane ticket: a one way trip to France, leaving tomorrow morning.

* * *

Yes, sad, I know. Please don't hate me for this chapter. And don't hate me for taking so long. I finally came back on this site and this was the only document left, with a life of three days. At first, I was relieved. When I was typing, I realized that my outline for this story had been deleted. You have no idea how devastating that is. All my information...gone. *cries*

Well, only a couple chapters left until the end!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please PM me or review! Till next time!

~Ki

**Next Episode: A Doki Dokki Confession!**


	28. A Doki Dokki Confession!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight - A Doki Dokki Confession!**

"Amu-chan!" Yaya exclaimed when Amu arrived at the Royal Garden the next day. "You're late! We already started the party!"

"Sorry," Amu said, smiling a bit. "I lost track of time."

"It's okay, it's okay! Come eat some candy!" she squealed, dragging her over to the buffet table.

There was quite an array of food on the table. Nagi made cakes and pastries, and Yaya brought candy. Kiyomi brought little sandwiches and Rikka brought the drinks.

"Utau brought a karaoke machine!" Yaya said, pointing at the mic and television.

"How fun," she said unenthusiastically.

"Are you going to sing?"

Amu looked up at Utau, who was waiting for a response with a raised eyebrow. Upon closer inspection, Amu noticed that her eyes were puffy and red.

"Were you crying?" she asked.

Utau nodded. "Ikuto left this morning." At seeing Amu's shocked expression, she added, "Didn't he tell you that?"

Her mind went blank, the only thought sticking in her mind being that he left without saying goodbye. Then she remembered last night and her heart spasmed painfully. She closed her eyes slowly and released her clenched fists. After taking a breath to steady herself, she said,

"No. But I don't care anymore. He means nothing to me."

If Utau was surprised by this, she sure didn't show it. Her purple eyes were as passive as ever. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I told you that you'd never take him from me," Utau said playfully, trying to fill the awkward silence that followed.

"Hey!" Kukai exclaimed, pouting.

Utau laughed and put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. He laughed too and hugged her around the waist. Amu took a couple steps away from them and discovered that Yaya had left her side. She looked around and saw the bubbly girl holding hands with Kairi, a blush on both of their faces. Smiling, she turned around and saw Rima and Nagi sitting on a bench together, Rima's legs draped across Nagi's lap and her head on his shoulder. Rikka had her arm looped through Hikaru's as she sang loudly and out of tune to the karaoke music.

Amu sadly made her way back to the buffet table and talked to Kiyomi.

"How are you?" she asked.

Kiyomi smiled. "Getting better. People are warming up to me now, seeing that I've changed. It's all thanks to you."

Amu blushed. "No, I - "

She interrupted, "Really, I mean it. I know I've thanked you before, but even if I thanked you every day from now until the end of our lives, I could never fully express how grateful I am."

Amu smiled and dipped her head in acknowledgment. "How's Masuyo?"

"Still in her egg. But sometimes I can hear her. Every now and then she'll whisper little bits of advice," Kiyomi replied.

"That's good."

"Yeah!"

They smiled at each other, and once again Amu could see how much she'd changed. Kiyomi was genuinely having fun and feeling happy. There were still some tensions, like with Utau, but it was getting better all the time.

Her thoughts were interrupted by loud cheering. She turned around and saw Utau stepping up to the karaoke mic.

"I have an announcement to make," Utau said, looking at all of them. "In a couple months, I will be leaving for a year long music tour aroundAmerica."

This was met by loud cheering and clapping.

She smiled. "And to honor the occasion, I would like to sing my new song, which is the first song I've ever written in English. It's called Hold."

Her delicate fingers pressed a button on the karaoke machine and beautiful notes played on a piano floated through the air. She opened her mouth and then began to sing.

_Tell me that it's gonna be okay _  
_Tell me that you'll help me find my way _  
_Tell me you can see the light of dawn is breaking _  
_Tell me that it's gonna be all right _  
_Tell me that you'll help me fight this fight _  
_Tell me that you won't leave me alone in this _

_'Cause I need _  
_I need a hand to hold _  
_To hold me from the edge _  
_The edge I'm sliding over slowly _  
_'Cause I need _  
_I need your hand to hold _  
_To hold me from the edge _  
_The edge I'm sliding past _  
_Hold on to me _

_Tell me I can make it through this day _  
_I don't even have the words to pray _  
_You have been the only one who never left me _  
_Help me find the way through all my fears _  
_Help me see the light through all my tears _  
_Help me see that I am not alone in this _

_'Cause I need _  
_I need a hand to hold _  
_To hold me from the edge _  
_The edge I'm sliding over slowly _  
_'Cause I need _  
_I need your hand to hold _  
_To hold me from the edge _  
_The edge I'm sliding past _  
_Hold on to me _

_'Cause I need _  
_I need a hand to hold _  
_To hold me from the edge _  
_The edge I'm sliding over slowly _  
_'Cause I need _  
_I need your hand to hold _  
_To hold me from the edge _  
_The edge I'm sliding past _  
_Hold on to me_

The music ended and she opened her eyes to look at them. She smiled at them and the broke out into wild applause. Kukai stood up and took her hands in his, interlacing their fingers. He leaned forward and whispered into her ear,

"You can hold on to me."

"I plan to," she whispered back.

They hugged each other and then sat back down as everyone began talking amongst themselves.

_Everyone's so happy_, Amu thought to herself. Utau and Kukai, Rima and Nagi, Yaya and Kairi, Rikka and Hikaru, her and...

_No! He left you. He means nothing to you_, she told herself fiercely, clenching her fists. _Nothing, he's nothing, nothing, he's nothing, nothing, he's - _

"Amu-chan?"

She looked up into a comforting pair of red eyes.

"Tadase," she breathed.

He smiled at her. "May I?"

"Of course!" She scooted over and he sat next to her on the bench.

"It's nice, isn't it?" he asked.

"What is?"

"Everyone being together like this, happy," he said.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," she replied with a smile.

He took her hand and she felt her heart race.

"Amu-chan, I have to tell you something."

She swallowed nervously. "Y-Yes?"

His eyes met hers. "I've said this before, I know. But I really want you to know."

"W-What?"

"I love you, Amu-chan."

She stared back at him, her eyes wide. Those three words destroyed her yesterday. But here they were again. The world was throwing them right back in her face. But instead of hurting her, they made her feel better. Almost whole again.

And then she knew. She swallowed and her throat felt less swollen. Her head cleared from its dizziness and she found solid ground to stand on in his gaze. She stared straight on into his eyes and she opened her mouth.

"I love you too."

His eyes widened and they both blushed, looking away from each other for a second. They looked at each other again and slowly leaned in. No more interruptions. No more distractions. Just right here, right now.

When their lips met, a cheer went up and they broke apart immediately. The entire rest of the partygoers were staring at them with smiles on their faces. Rima and Yaya had stars in their eyes.

"Well, it's about time," Kukai said after a moment.

They all began laughing and talking with one another again. Tadase's hand tightened around Amu's and he smiled gently at her.

"Yes, yes it is," he said softly, leaning in to kiss her again.

"_NEEEEEE-CHAAAAAAAN!_"

They sprang apart at the blood curdling scream and Amu leapt to her feet, her heart pounding with fear and worry. Ami came sprinting toward the Royal Garden and everyone parted quickly, letting the little girl go straight to her big sister.

Amu went to her knees. "Ami, what's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt? Where're Mama and Papa?"

"_Nee-chan, I gave birth!_" she screamed.

She opened her bag. There, nestled together, were three new shugo chara eggs. Everyone looked in the bag and then at each other. They then burst into laughter, thus confusing Ami entirely.

Amu stood up and patted her little sister's head. Tadase came up behind her and took her hand. They leaned their foreheads together and smiled. Being there, surrounded by their friends, feeling happy and full of life, they knew that a happy future awaited them.

* * *

**Disclaimer: The song that Utau sings is Hero by Superchick.**

Only two chapters left! This is so exciting! Keep reading, we're almost at the end!

I'm also really depressed because they removed the spellcheck button. So, I apologize if there are any mistakes. I scanned it several times.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then PM me or review! Till next time!

~K

**Next Episode: The Heart's Choice!**


	29. The Heart's Choice!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Nine - The Heart's Choice!**

___~~~Six Years Later~~~_

_Deep breath. Count to ten. Release. Deep breath. Count to ten. Release. Deep - _

"Oh my gosh."

Amu's eyes snapped open and looked at her friends, who all looked shocked.

"What?" she asked, heart racing. "What's wrong? !"

Utau smiled and put a hand on her friend's arm. "Turn around," she said gently.

Amu swallowed and turned around to look at herself in the mirror. When she did, she sucked a breath in and stared. The gangly 19 year old girl that had stood there only a few moments ago was gone, now replaced by someone beautiful.

Her pink hair fell in soft curls around her shoulders and a tiara with her veil attached rested on the top of her head. Long white gloves adorned her arms. The dress was long and white with off the shoulder sleeves. It gently hugged her body and went down to the floor, covering her white heels.

She turned around to face her friends with tears in her eyes.

"I can't believe it - Tadase and I are finally getting married!" she said.

"Don't cry! Your mascara will run!" Rima chastised lightly.

They all laughed and Amu nodded gratefully at her maid of honor.

"I'll try, but...this is everything I've dreamed about," she whispered happily.

"Not yet," Rima replied, standing up. She put something around Amu's neck and turned her friend back around to face the mirror. Resting against her skin on a white ribbon was the Humpty Lock. Amu gasped and her fingers wrapped around the lock.

Utau smiled and put a hand to her heart. "Eru is absolutely loving this."

"Pepe says you're growing up too fast," Yaya added.

"You're glowing, Akira says," Kiyomi said.

"You can still hear them?" Amu asked incredulously.

"Of course," Utau said. "Can't you?"

"Oh, um...yeah," she stammered.

"What are they saying?" Rima asked.

Amu swallowed the lump in her throat and looked in the mirror again. Quietly, she responded, "They're really happy for me."

The girls all looked at each other doubtfully, but didn't say anything.

"Yaya, what are you doing?" Kiyomi asked, looking at the auburn haired girl.

Yaya looked up from a notebook that she was hurriedly scribbling in. "I'm taking notes for Rima!"

Rima blushed instantly. "Yaya!"

"What?" she asked indignantly. "You and Nagi have been engaged since graduation!"

"We're taking our time with the planning," Rima replied.

"Well, Amu and Tadase didn't waste any time," Utau pointed out.

"Tadase proposed _two_ _years_ ago!" Rima exclaimed.

Kiyomi rolled her eyes and sat down in one of the arm chairs. "They were seventeen and still in high school. They couldn't exactly run off and get married. Plus, it was after the Dreamland incident."

"I know," Utau replied. "I'm saying they didn't waste any time once they were graduated, which was one month ago."

"What time is it?" Amu asked.

"You've still got an hour," Rima replied.

"Time is passing so slowly!" she groaned, collapsing into a chair.

"I wonder how the boys are doing," Yaya mused.

Utau flipped her phone open. "Kukai says that they're all bored, Tadase's freaking out, and they're still missing a groomsman."

"Who?" Rima asked.

She raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think?"

There was a beat of silence and everyone glanced nervously at Amu, who pretended she hadn't heard and was admiring her engagement ring. She looked up and saw all the eyes on her. She frowned.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," Utau replied simply. "I'm just wondering if you're worried."

"Worried about what?"

"Whether or not he'll show up. You _were_ in love with him in elementary school, after all," she pointed out, as blunt as ever. "You know, I always thought you were going to end up marrying him."

The rest of the girls remained silent, shocked that Utau would even mention Amu's past feelings for Ikuto. It had been a forbidden topic ever since she started dating Tadase.

Utau continued, not missing a beat. "Tadase told me that he was going to ask Ikuto to be his best man, but he figured that would be a little twisted. So he asked Kukai."

"Ikuto means nothing to me," Amu said coldly. "I'm in love with Tadase. I merely had a crush on Ikuto. Besides, Tadase and I are meant to be together." She looked away and touched the Humpty Lock around her neck. "Lock and key."

"What?" Utau asked.

Amu glared at her. "I said, lock and key. Me and Tadase. Forever."

"The key doesn't belong to Tadase," the blonde girl said.

"Yes it does! Ikuto stole it from Tadase so he could have the ability to Character Transform," Amu snapped. "Ikuto told me so before he left."

"Ikuto lied," Utau replied drily. "The key originally belonged to our father. Before Dad disappeared, he gave it to Tadase's father. Tadase's father gave it to Tadase. Ikuto stole back what was rightfully his."

Amu swallowed and blinked, struggling to accept this. "Y...You mean, we're not lock and key?"

The rest of the bridesmaids now looked at her, incredulous.

"You've been basing your relationship with Tadase on the fact that you were the lock and he was the key?" Rima asked angrily.

"N-No!" Amu protested. "I love Tadase! I do!"

"More than you love Ikuto?" Utau countered, folding her arms.

Amu rose from her chair. "I...I...I need some air."

Without another word, she ran headlong out of the room.

"Amu-chan!" Yaya called, leaping up from her chair.

"Let her," Utau said.

"But - "

"She needs to think things over, Yaya," she interrupted. "She's been putting this issue aside for far too long. After all, this is the most important decision of her life."

Amu's heart raced as she ran. She didn't know where she was going, but some fresh air and some space to think sounded pretty good at this point.

How could Utau say those things? On her _wedding_ day, too! Being in love with Ikuto...the thought was ridiculous. She hadn't said more than two words to him since he'd broken her heart. Tadase was the one she loved. She'd always loved him.

She rounded a corner and ran right smack into someone. She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting the person to see her about to cry, and felt the person's hands rest on her shoulders.

"Are you okay?"

Amu's eyes flew open and she stared straight at the man she'd been avoiding for six years.

"Ikuto," she breathed.

His eyes became guarded and he obviously forced a smile onto his face.

Amu realized that she was staring and began stammering in order to cover up.

"Y-You...you're late! We were all wondering whether or not you were going to show up," she said.

"Sorry," he replied in a monotone. "I just got here. My plane landed a couple minutes."

"Plane?"

He nodded. "My dad and I are on tour. We were just in Germany."

"How nice," she said, scowling at the mention of his father. First he was always gone because he was searching for his father. Now he was always gone because he was touring with his father. Not that she was complaining. She liked not having him around.

"Do you know where Tadase it?" he asked. "I need to get dressed."

"U-Uh...I - "

"I'll just look for him," he said, turning around and walking away. "Thanks."

She stood there dumbly for a second, watching him leave her for the third time. A lump formed in her throat, and a pain she hadn't felt in years ached in her heart. What was happening to her? Something rose up inside her, warming her heart, and for the first time since high school, four familiar voices reached her ears.

_Go, go, Amu-chan!_

_No more thinking._

_You can do it!_

_It's time to shine._

Amu felt tears rise to her eyes as she put a hand to her heart and smiled. "Thank you."

She raised her determined eyes, feeling the strength she knew as a child return to her, and fixed her gaze on the retreating figure. Her mouth opened, and, without a moment's hesitation, she let it all out.

"_Get back here NOW!_"

He stopped and turned, shock painted across his face before he regained his cool composure and walked back over to her.

"Yes, Princess?" he asked with a cocky grin on his face. "Did I forget to compliment your dress?"

She shuddered, remembering hot kisses on her neck...

"Don't call me Princess," she said quietly.

His eyes darkened and flashed pain for a second. "Sorry. I forgot."

"Right," she snapped. "Just like you forgot to tell me the truth!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Six years ago! After the Broken-Egg dilemma! I told you that I loved you," she hissed.

"I remember," he said softly, not meeting her eyes.

"You lied to me about your key! And...And you said that you didn't - " She stopped and took a breath. "Was _that_ the truth?"

"No."

_Crack!_

His left cheek stung and he recoiled away from her. She massaged her hand and glared at him.

"How could you _do _that to me? !" she screamed. "You were everything to me!"

"What did you expect me to do?" he argued. "You were fourteen!"

"What about when I was in high school? Huh?" she countered. "I was seventeen then."

"That didn't mean anything. We weren't ourselves. It was a mistake," he growled.

"Didn't feel that way to me," she sniped.

He sighed with frustration and ran a hand through his hair.

"Why are you bringing this up now? Just forget about it. Forget about me!" he yelled.

"How can I forget when you keep waltzing back into my life like nothing's happened? !"

"Then I'll leave."

"_DON'T!_"

Their hearts were beating and adrenaline pumped through their veins. For a few moments, it was silent except for their panted breaths.

"You're getting married in half an hour. To Tadase. Your _prince_. Remember?" he reminded.

"That's why I need to do this," she replied. "I can't spend the rest of my life wondering about what could've been."

"He is everything you need," he said quietly.

"But not what I want!"

Their eyes widened and one of her hands flew to her mouth. He took a few steps away from her, shaking his head.

"This isn't happening. You didn't say that," he told her, and then turned and ran down the hall and out of sight.

Amu stared after him and put a hand to her forehead. She wanted Ikuto? She needed Tadase? Or was it the other way around? Was it both?

She shook her head. She loved Tadase, she knew. He was always there for her, and he always knew how to make her feel better. They were as close as two people could be. He was understanding, kind, steady, and supporting. Ikuto wasn't.

But Ikuto...

Amu shook her head again, trying to rid herself of these thoughts, and turned and stumbled back to the room where she found her bridesmaids in a state of panic.

"Where were you? !" Yaya exclaimed when she walked in.

"Thinking," Amu replied in a monotone.

"And?" Utau prompted.

She turned her golden eyes to Utau. "I love Tadase, and I'm marrying him."

Utau nodded slowly. "As long as you're sure."

Amu faced her reflection in the mirror and put her hand to her heart, but the voices were silent. "I am."

"Then let's go!" Rima exclaimed. "It's time!"

Almost as if in a dream, she went through the rest of the motions of getting ready. Her bridesmaids went into the hall and her father came and took her arm as he sobbed uncontrollably. She only woke up from this dream when everyone rose as she walked into the room.

Everyone stared at her with happiness on their faces and tears in their eyes. Standing in front of her was Tadase, looking at her like she was the only person in the world who mattered. To his left were her bridesmaids: Rima, Utau, Yaya, and Kiyomi. To his right were Kukai, Nagi, Kairi, and...Ikuto. He looked at her with those familiarly guarded eyes, betraying no emotion.

Tadase or Ikuto?

She was shocked at herself. Here she was, walking down the aisle, and she was still questioning herself? Tadase was good for her, she knew. She was a better person when she was around Tadase. But with Ikuto, there was almost a...deeper connection, she realized.

Tadase knew her better than anyone else, she knew. Anyone else except Ikuto. With him, she didn't have to talk. He just looked at her and knew. He didn't even have to say anything, either.

Yes, she loved them both. More than life. But they were different kinds of love. She loved Ikuto with passion, and she loved Tadase...

...like she would a best friend.

She almost gasped as the realization came crashing down on her. Tadase was like her closest guy friend, who she could talk about with anything. It wasn't a romantic love, but more of a friend love. It didn't begin that way. She had a crush on him, and then fell in love with him, but now it felt like she'd grown out of that.

Tadase took her arm and they looked at each other as the preacher went over the vows.

"Hotori Tadase, do you..."

Her best friend. Her _best friend_. How had she not seen it before? She'd been blinding herself by confusing friend love with romantic love.

"I do." Tadase smiled gently at her.

"Hinamori Amu, do you..."

Her thoughts raced into a blur and her mouth felt full of cotton. She had to stop this. But how? Ikuto wasn't looking at her. He was staring at the floor. Her friends and family couldn't help her now. She had to do his herself.

"...as long as you both shall live?"

She stared with her mouth hanging open and eyes as wide. The air was heavy and tense. Tadase looked around and squeezed her hands comfortingly.

"Amu-chan?" he whispered in a confused voice.

"I..." Amu looked around at her friends, her family, and Ikuto, who was finally looking at her. Their eyes met and in that instant she could see all the pain and the love that he held for her.

"...I can't," she whispered.

A gasp went through the entire room. She turned her head to look at them and then at Tadase with apologetic eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said, slipping the engagement ring off her finger and closing his hand around it. "I love you, Tadase, I do. Just not in this way."

With that, she took one look at Ikuto and then ran away yet again as the crowd rose and erupted into loud talking and discussions. Amu's bridesmaids ran after her, leaving Tadase and the groomsmen. After a moment, Ikuto ran after them.

"Did that just happen?" Kukai asked, looking at his friends.

Tadase opened his hand and stared at the ring resting on his palm. Painfully, he nodded.

"Yes," he said. "I knew it would. But I'd hoped..."

He shook his head and clenched his fists. He walked out of the hall, needing to think. Thankfully, the reception hall was empty. He sunk down into a chair and put his head on the table. He knew this day would come. Amu had always loved Ikuto the most. He was a fool to hope that -

"Ahem."

He lifted his head up off the table and saw a girl from his high school standing in front of him. She had ice blue hair and eyes and was looking at him with a sad expression.

"If you don't mind," he began, "I would really like to be alone right now."

"I know," she replied. "I just have to say something first. I know how you're feeling. I'd been dating my boyfriend ever since high school began, and he told me that we were going to end up married. But he dumped me on graduation day."

"I'm sorry," Tadase said.

The girl shrugged. "I don't care anymore. But I was devastated. So, if you ever want to talk, this is my number."

She stepped forward and put a folded slip of paper on the table. After a moment of hesitation, he picked it up and slipped it into his pocket.

"What's your name?" he asked.

She smiled a bit. "Nakagawa Mizumi. You probably don't remember me, but we met once before in junior high. I didn't go to Seiyo until high school, though."

"Really?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah. You and your friends found me sleeping in the aquarium." She blushed a bit.

Tadase thought for a moment and then remembered the girl who had been the first victim to receive a Broken-Egg.

"I remember now," he said.

"Well, that's good," she replied, smiling. "I'm going to go now. Feel free to call me."

"Have you become a whale or dolphin trainer yet?" he asked.

"Maybe. Call me and find out," she replied.

He laughed and waved a bit as she walked away. Once the door closed, he put his head back down on the table, feeling slightly better than he did a moment ago.

SCSCSC

Tears ran down Amu's cheeks as she collapsed on to the floor in front of the mirror. The warmth filled her heart again, but she couldn't help crying. She'd hurt Tadase, she knew she did. But it had to be done. She had to say it.

"You did the right thing," Utau said when they walked into the room.

Amu sat up and looked at her. "I hate you right now, but I thank you with all my heart at the same time."

"What happens now?" Kiyomi asked quietly.

Amu sighed. "I have no - "

She stopped suddenly and gasped, staring at something behind them. They turned around and saw an out of breath Ikuto standing in the doorway. Wordlessly, they quickly filed out, leaving the two of them alone.

For what felt like an eternity, they just stared at each other, trying to fully absorb their situation. All walls were down. She revealed the pain and longing that she'd been hiding. He showed the regret and torment that he'd kept down inside him.

"What happens now?" Amu asked, echoing Kiyomi.

"We start over," Ikuto replied. He walked forward and got down on his knees in front of her, looking at her with begging eyes. "If you'll let me."

She bit her lip and nodded, too overcome for words. They saw each other then - truly saw each other - in a way that they hadn't since they were kids. All thoughts, regrets, and worries left their minds as they leaned forward and had their first kiss. It tasted of tears, love, and a new beginning.

* * *

And there you have it. This is really how I would envision Shugo Chara ending if it continued. Tadase and Amu felt more like a school crush/relationship: something that would be short and sweet. But Ikuto and Amu felt way more passionate and long lasting.

I'm sorry, Tadamu fans, but this is how it is.

One more chapter left! Please stick with me!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then please PM me or review! Till next time!

~Kicon

**Next Episode: Happily Ever After!**

PS: If anyone has any questions about the "Dreamland incident" that Kiyomi mentioned and what else happened between Amu and Ikuto...that story will be released sometime in June! High school, here we come!

PPS: This is the longest chapter in the story! 3,839 words! WOOT!


	30. Happily Ever After!

**The Heart's Choice**

The former Guardians are finally going to middle school, but it seems that it's not going to be as good as it seemed when the student council president has it out for Amu. Meanwhile, Amu finally has to face her hardest decision: Tadase or Ikuto? Utau is coming under stress from work and develops a serious problem that strains her relationship with Kukai. Rima's parents are fighting more than ever and she's isolating herself from Nagihiko. Kairi doesn't know if he likes Amu or Yaya. Yaya is feeling abandoned and left behind while everybody else is dealing with their problems. And that's not all! Something dark is rising, and it's threatening to destroy everything they've worked so hard for...

* * *

**Chapter Thirty - Happily Ever After!**

_~~~Seven Years Later~~~_

"Oh, I remember this one!" Amu exclaimed, pointing to a picture in the photo album.

Ikuto looked at it and laughed. "When was that?"

"My 6th grade graduation," she replied. "Yaya and Kairi made a big ball and filled it with flowers."

"How are those two?" he asked, glancing at her before flipping a page.

"Yaya's nearing the end of her pregnancy," she said. "They're going to have a boy named Daiki."

He smiled and nodded, then pointed at another picture. "What are these?"

She leaned over and looked at it, then started laughing. It was a series of pictures: the first was of Rima and Nagi smiling at each other and holding hands. The second was them looking over at the camera. In the third they were blushing. And in the fourth Rima was storming toward the camera with an angry expression while Nagi just shook his head.

"That was back in junior high before they were officially dating," she replied. "They got so mad."

"Have you heard from Rima in a while?" he asked.

"Yep!" she said. "Rima's going to have another baby!"

"A third?" Ikuto raised his eyebrows.

Amu nodded. "She hopes that it will be a girl this time."

"I don't blame her," he said.

"Aw, look at Hikaru and Rikka in their Guardian capes!" she exclaimed, pointing at the two holding hands in the picture. "They're engaged now!"

"When did he propose?" Ikuto asked.

"On his eighteenth birthday," she replied. "Cute, right?"

He shrugged. She rolled her eyes and flipped the page. She pointed at a picture of her and Kiyomi in their high school uniforms.

"Her daughter turned two last month," she said.

"That's good."

The next picture was of Shoji glaring at whoever was taking the picture.

"Are Shoji and Ami still dating?" he asked.

She nodded. "They're nearing their three year anniversary."

"Wow."

"I know," she said, rolling her eyes. "They grow up so fast."

They looked at each other and laughed.

"This was from when Lulu visited last," Amu said, flipping another page. "I think she got married recently. To an English man."

Ikuto laughed. "Good for her."

He turned another page and his eyes rested on a picture of Utau and Kukai sitting on a bench together. "Speaking of marriage, do you know when Utau and Kukai are coming back from their honeymoon?"

She was quiet and shrugged her shoulders, obviously hiding something as she tried to turn the page. He grabbed her wrist and looked into her eyes.

"Amu, what aren't you telling me?" he asked.

"Hm?" She wouldn't meet his eyes. "Nothing."

"What do you know?" he pestered.

She looked at him and sighed, slumping against him and covering her eyes with her hands. She bit her lip, and then said,

"Utau's pregnant."

She felt him stiffen, and the moments of silence felt like an eternity. She sat up and put her hands on his arm.

"Don't do anything rash!" she said. "Utau told me yesterday when she called, but she told me not to tell you because she thought that you would freak out and I think you're doing that right now, so if you could say something I would feel - "

He put a hand over her mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm happy...for...her," he grunted. "But I want to punch Kukai in the face."

Amu sighed. It was the best reaction she could hope for. She was about to say something when the doorbell rang. She leapt up from their couch and just as a baby started crying. Quickly, she ran to the crib and scooped out a baby boy with blue hair and yellow eyes.

"Here, take Kazuto," she said, handing the baby to Ikuto.

"Shh, Daddy's here," he cooed, cradling the six month old boy.

"Saki, get your bag!" she called down the hall.

A few moments later, a three year old girl with short pink hair and sapphire blue eyes darted out of a door and ran to her mom. Together, they opened the door. Amu looked into a pair of familiar red eyes and smiled.

"Hello, Tadase," she said.

He dipped his head in greeting. "Hi, Amu."

Amu leaned down and smiled at the little boy in front of Tadase. He looked exactly like his father, but had the same ice blue eyes as his mother.

"Hi there Michio. You're getting so big!" she said.

"Hello Hinamori-san," the boy greeted respectfully, and then looked at Saki. "Hi Saki-chan!"

"Hi Michio-kun," the little girl replied, then took his hand and ran out the door.

Amu straightened up and smiled at Tadase. "How is Mizumi?"

"She's good, but tiring her job is pretty demanding," he replied.

"I bet. I couldn't imagine being a dolphin trainer," she said, then looked over at their kids. "I'll be over to pick them up in a couple hours."

"Alright," he said, turning to walk away. "I'll see you later."

Amu closed the door and returned to her spot next to Ikuto on the couch. She smiled down at Kazuto and then looked at Ikuto, who had a sad expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, putting a hand on his cheek.

He sighed and then met her gaze. "I'm just wondering...do you think you made the right choice?"

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Choice? What choice? My heart has always belonged to you."

He took her hand from off his cheek and admired the sapphire wedding and engagement rings on her finger. Then he looked up and kissed her. She kissed back and her heart beat happily with love for him.

* * *

Just a little short chapter to show how they all ended up! I might be posting some extras (various wedding scenes, how certain people proposed, etc.) if people request it. I think I'll even do a chapter of all their kids being Guardians!

A **sneak peek** of **Dreamland** is up **now!** More to come this summer! Have a happy vacation!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then PM me or review! Till next time!

~Kicon


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